Falling Upward

I’m reading Falling Upward by Richard Rorh at the moment. 

This week he has given me a deep spiritual insight.

Are you ready?

OK. Here goes:

Our failures are a necessary part of our spiritual growth.

Those sins I’ve committed… I had to commit those. Even though the pain and consequences of our mistakes can be harsh and hard to live with…without them, without those failings, we wouldn’t be who we are today, we wouldn’t be as close to God as we are today, and we wouldn’t be as wise to the dangers to our spirtual health as we are today.

When God told Adam and Eve not to eat the apple of course they were going to eat it!

When you tell a child not to do something, rest assured they’ll do it.

It’s the same with us.

‘You shouldn’t look at porn.’

We look at porn.

“You shouldn’t have sex outside of marriage.”

We have sex.

“You shouldn’t do drugs or alcohol.”

We do drugs and alcohol.

It was the same with the Old Testament Law.

Look at the great men of God in the O.T.

“Thou Shalt Not Kill.”

David Killed.

Moses Killed.

Paul Killed.

God doesn’t give us the law – don’t do drugs, don’t have sex, don’t look at porn – because he wants us to ‘be good.’ He gives us the law to protect us. He knows if we do these things we will hurt ourselves and also, as a consequence, others.

But we don’t listen.

We do what we want.

We wander.

We go astray.

We fall.

We fail.

And then, deep in the pit our own failings, we cry out to God, and He restores our soul.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me.

– Psalm 23

And through our pain and suffering we grow closer to God.

We desire Him more than we desire anything else.

We understand why God advised us not to do them.

We understand that life in His presence is greater than all earthly pleasures.

He lifts us up. We grow a little. And then we fall again.

He lifts us up. We grow a little. And then we fall again.

Baby steps towards becoming the person He is changing us into.

Hopefully, each time we fall it won’t be the same mistake over and over.

It will be new challenges we stumble at.

Aspects of our character.

Stopping that gossiping.

Being friendlier.

Challenging our jealousy, our pride, own self-centeredness.

But whatever our failings are we can rest assured that they are a necessary part of our spiritual growth.

For when we fall and Christ picks us up and restores us His glory is revealed.

When we suffer in a pit of despair and are resurrected by His power within us His glory is revealed.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

His grace.

Nomatter how much we fail, stumble and fall, His grace lifts us up and sets us back into flight.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young people stumble and fall, but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength, They will rise on wings like eagles.

– Isaiah 40:30

Our spiritual strength doesn’t come from our own ability to perform moral perfection, but comes from our ability to trust in the Lord when we fall, to restore our soul and set us back into flight.

Falling Upward!

Let’s finish with this powerful word from Paul. 

Most gladly, therefore, I will boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me… for when I am weak, then I am strong.