25
Sep
Hope after Failure
Posted by: developerIn Genesis 20, Abraham had an embarrassing encounter with Abimelech, king of the Philistine city of Gerar. It was embarrassing because Abraham repeated a sin that he had committed some 20 years earlier in Egypt (Genesis 12). His fear of man (Proverbs 29:25) overwhelmed him and he affirmed that Sarah was his sister, not his wife. Out of love and mercy for Abraham, God revealed the situation to Abimelech and he rebuked Abraham publicly. “What have you done? Why did you do it?” How those questions must have stung Abraham’s conscience.
Have you felt the sting of the world’s rebuke because of your disobedience to Scripture? God commands His children to live holy lives in public and in private. When believers stray from the paths of righteousness, God pursues them that they might return to obedience and fellowship with their heavenly Father. Chastening is never a pleasant experience, but God intends it for our good and his glory. It indicates that we are indeed his children. (Hebrews 12:5-11) Our daily prayer should be, lead me “in the paths of righteousness for thy name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).
Repentance is the key. That doesn’t mean that, after your stumble, you will live a sinless life. It means you have godly sorrow for the current situation, you renounce your sin, and you return to walk with your Lord. First John 1:9 reassures us that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
At that point, the pangs of conscience fade and the heart warms to the things of God again. What joy to know that there is nothing between your soul and the Savior. Whatever has happened in the past, God’s love and grace are greater than our sin.
