There are challenges to face when you commit to living in “100% Grace; 100% Truth: No Compromise.” One of the first realities you need to think about is that—you will fail. The second thing to bear in mind, (right after your heart sinks upon remembering the first thing,) is that—the attempt itself is blessed by God.
You Will Fail; But That Can’t Thwart God’s Plan.
According to Bob Deffinbaugh, in his Bible Lesson on failure, the Apostle Peter’s colossal failure in denying Christ was predicted by Jesus and yet in the same sentence, Jesus says that He has prayed for Peter and tells him that once he turns back to Him, he is to minister to the other disciples.
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32 (NIV)
It seems from this Scripture that Jesus is simply stating a fact—you will fail. Apparently you can fail right up to denying you even know Christ, and the Lord just as matter-of-factly welcomes him back.
God Will Bless Your Attempts, Again and Again, and Celebrate Your Progress
Failure is part of the process. A former co-worker, Karen Wood, in her writing about the realities of a soul being restored, talks about the Try/Fail, Try/Fail, Try/Fail stage of the journey. She uses an analogy of a baby learning to walk. Just as we don’t chastise the lurching awkward first attempts at walking, but rather celebrate every inch of a baby’s progress, so is the Lord with us.
Once, having returned to exercising after a long hiatus, I was unable to pull myself up on the bar at all, no matter how I tried. My instructor said, “That’s okay, just keep trying and one day you will make it. After what seemed like an interminable time with no progress, I approached the bar, pulled dutifully with all my might, and my feet left the ground! It was the trying and trying and trying repeatedly that strengthened my muscles to the point that I could do what I was trying to do. And so it is with God. He won’t waste one moment of the Trying/Failing process. He teaches, corrects, encourages, and strengthens all internal work, while we keep on keeping on. And then, in His time, our spiritual feet leave the ground!
So, let’s stay with it; let’s commit ourselves to the 100% Grace, 100% Truth: No Compromise as a goal worth striving for and trust God to do the rest . Send me your thoughts on how you are trying, would love to read how you are loving people in Jesus name, how that’s working out, what you are learning! Let’s walk this impossible journey together!
Mary Heathman
Founding Director
Mary is one of the founders of Where Grace Abounds and served as Executive Director from its inception on July, 1986 through March 31st, 2007. She speaks and teaches at churches and conferences across the country. She has also served on several boards of non-profit organizations, is a conference speaker on a variety of topics that include: Intimacy with God, Healthy Sexuality, and leadership development. She currently serves in leadership in her denomination. Mary’s favorite ministry roles are discipleship counseling, group facilitation, and leadership development.
Mary often characterizes herself as “a seeker of Truth” and has a long-standing fascination with human behavior and motiviation. Her education consists of lay and discipleship counseling, indepentent study about the integration of psychology and theology, counseling and human sexuality. She also holds a BS in Human Services and an MA in Psychology from Regis University.
Mary attends a Friends (Quaker) Church.