The blessing of having utterly failed

Please do not get me wrong, I am not recommending utter failure, there is danger in having utterly failed. In particular it can lead you to being permanently stuck in despondency and hopelessness, and it can lead to further destruction. But there is danger in never having failed too. In particular it can lead us to being like the brother of the prodigal son in his jealousy, self righteousness and resentment against the Father (Luke 15:25-32). Neither am I discounting the trail of destruction that accompanies failure and the longterm aftereffects on relationships and ours and others lives. But this post was prompted by something a friend told me the other day. What she said was “I have lost too much, and gained too much to go back!” The Law of the Lord is perfect, for in it there is preparation, protection and provision. And there is a godly sorrow that produces repentance and salvation not to be regretted. Such repentance produces a passion and a love, and a zeal for the Lord, that comes out of being forgiven much (2 Corinthians 7:10, 11).

But exactly how do I deal with the regret? I mean when we finally come to the place where we can admit what we have done, and start to see the destruction we left behind, together with the consequences in the now, and the future, then there is this tendency to beat ourselves up! What we need to realize though, is that these are the very things that lead us to godly repentance. And that we are where we are (having lost so much, and having gained so much) not in spite of what we did, but precisely because of what we did. And the Lord allowed what He allowed, so that the school of hard knocks would have its way with us, and we would return to the shepherd and protector of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). The Lord knows us, and that while it is true that “to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (Luke 7:47), the converse is also true that to whom much is forgiven the same loves much.

The prodigal son lost his (financial) inheritance, all that the father had was his brothers (Luke 15:31). But what he gained was a relationship with the father that was the envy of his brother. The Lord has promised that He will restore the years the locusts have eaten, and He makes all things beautiful in His time (Joel 2:25; Ecclesiastes 3:11). We just have to trust, and allow Him the time to do this. And we pray for the people we have hurt, and trust that He will use their pain to help them see their need of Him. After all His primary agenda is to unite all things together in Him (Ephesians 1:10), and when we love Him and are called according to His purpose, He works all things together for our good, even the evil we have done.

Father, who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the Your inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy (Micah 7:18). Thank You that You are at work restoring the destructive years the locusts have eaten, and thank You that You brought us back to You our shepherd, and guardian and that You will make all things beautiful in Your time in Jesus Name Amen.