It is not the fall that destroys a person, but the refusal to rise again.
No one walks the path to God without stumbling. Even the one who strives with zeal will know days of weakness, distraction, and frailty. Yet the enemy rejoices less over the fall itself than over the despair that whispers to the soul that everything is lost.
God never grows weary of raising the one who returns in repentance. Just as the father in the Gospel embraced the prodigal son before he had finished his confession, so the heavenly Father hastens toward every heart that returns in humility.
Do not dwell on how many times you have fallen. Look instead to the One who stretches out His hand every time. True repentance is not remaining among the ruins of the past, but rising and setting out again on the path of God’s commandments.
Every morning is a call to a new beginning. The grace of God counts not only a person’s falls, but every rising made in faith. Before God, the soul that returns is always precious.
Today, do not say, “I have fallen.” Say instead, “With God’s help, I begin again.”
“Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.” (Proverbs 24:16)
