Recovering from a Fall

[Messerve]

Recently, I fell back into an old sin which I thought was gone for good (I guess I should know better by now...). It was just a brief thing, but I knew it was wrong and I knew I was heading that direction though I really didn't want to in my heart. I asked God for a distraction, but that didn't happen... As I gave into the sin, I actively tried not to think about Jesus because I knew if I thought too much about Him, then I couldn't possibly go down that path that I wanted to go down. It's pretty sad and very shameful...

When you've been pursuing God and spending time with Him consistently and He's done great things with your talents and time, falling like that is brutal. It feels like you've just told your best friend you hate Him, and you really can't expect Him to ever talk to you again or forgive you.

I also feel like the whole world is aware of my sin, as if when I'm out in public people are trying to avoid me or talking behind my back or secretly ridiculing me for my hypocrisy.

It feels crippling. I not only have my own guilt weighing me down, but I feel like the whole world is condemning me, too, though the vast majority of the time no one has any knowledge that I sinned in any way. So it's all in my mind.

Still, it's really hard. It takes me a day or two to feel normal again and I beat myself up for being such a failure in my spiritual walk. For letting down my guard and letting life circumstances overwhelm me once again. For forgetting all Jesus did, and worse, deliberately trying not to think about it.

How do you recover when you've fallen? How do you face the world again with confidence and not feel like a total hypocrite?

 

[God is good]

Recently, I fell back into an old sin which I thought was gone for good (I guess I should know better by now...). It was just a brief thing, but I knew it was wrong and I knew I was heading that direction though I really didn't want to in my heart. I asked God for a distraction, but that didn't happen... As I gave into the sin, I actively tried not to think about Jesus because I knew if I thought too much about Him, then I couldn't possibly go down that path that I wanted to go down. It's pretty sad and very shameful...

When you've been pursuing God and spending time with Him consistently and He's done great things with your talents and time, falling like that is brutal. It feels like you've just told your best friend you hate Him, and you really can't expect Him to ever talk to you again or forgive you.

I also feel like the whole world is aware of my sin, as if when I'm out in public people are trying to avoid me or talking behind my back or secretly ridiculing me for my hypocrisy.

It feels crippling. I not only have my own guilt weighing me down, but I feel like the whole world is condemning me, too, though the vast majority of the time no one has any knowledge that I sinned in any way. So it's all in my mind.

Still, it's really hard. It takes me a day or two to feel normal again and I beat myself up for being such a failure in my spiritual walk. For letting down my guard and letting life circumstances overwhelm me once again. For forgetting all Jesus did, and worse, deliberately trying not to think about it.

How do you recover when you've fallen? How do you face the world again with confidence and not feel like a total hypocrite?

I would just pray and repent, remember in 1John 1:9 it says "if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". God loves you and He can help you. God bless you and Jesus is Lord.

 

[Messerve]

I would just pray and repent, remember in 1John 1:9 it says "if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". God loves you and He can help you. God bless you and Jesus is Lord.

I guess sometimes my prayers of repentance seem like they just bounce off the ceiling. Like, my own prayers are hypocrisy because down the road I may fall again. I make changes to truly repent and change my ways, but little by little over time I may let my guard down or unconsciously undo some of the changes I made and end up in a vulnerable place again.

Even when we repent, we can fall back into the thing we repented of at some point in the future. Praying for forgiveness after that falling back is what feels empty to me, because it seems like it shouldn't have even happened if I had sincerely repented. I know that's not the case... But how do I get over that feeling?

 

[Lost4words]

Immediately turn to God.

We are flesh. We are weak. When we are weak we are strong in Jesus. Jesus came to save sinners.

The devil wants you to turn your back on God. He may win a battle here or there, but, he aint going to win the war my friend!

Dust off your sins. Get back up on your feet. Head back to the loving arms of Jesus.

God bless you

 

[Oldmantook]

I guess sometimes my prayers of repentance seem like they just bounce off the ceiling. Like, my own prayers are hypocrisy because down the road I may fall again. I make changes to truly repent and change my ways, but little by little over time I may let my guard down or unconsciously undo some of the changes I made and end up in a vulnerable place again.

Even when we repent, we can fall back into the thing we repented of at some point in the future. Praying for forgiveness after that falling back is what feels empty to me, because it seems like it shouldn't have even happened if I had sincerely repented. I know that's not the case... But how do I get over that feeling?

Scripture states that there is a broad road that leads to destruction and a narrow road that leads to life. Just ask yourself honestly, for the most part, which road are you traveling on? If you're on the narrow road, you will fall into the ditches on either side of that road since no one is without sin. Just get back up and seek forgiveness; keep on that road. One way of measure is that the narrow road is traveled by those who occasionally sin as their lifestyle can be characterized as walking in the light (1 Jn 1:7). They still sin occasionally and when they do, they repent and keep walking in the light. Those who travel on the broad road are those who are habitually prone to sin as they continue to walk in darkness (1 Jn 1:6) and evidence no forsaking of sin and repentance. Hope that is of encouragement to you.

 

[God is good]

I guess sometimes my prayers of repentance seem like they just bounce off the ceiling. Like, my own prayers are hypocrisy because down the road I may fall again. I make changes to truly repent and change my ways, but little by little over time I may let my guard down or unconsciously undo some of the changes I made and end up in a vulnerable place again.

Even when we repent, we can fall back into the thing we repented of at some point in the future. Praying for forgiveness after that falling back is what feels empty to me, because it seems like it shouldn't have even happened if I had sincerely repented. I know that's not the case... But how do I get over that feeling?

It is very hard to get over feeling that way but remember we can't always rely on our feelings. If God says we are forgiven because of what Jesus did for us then we are. God bless you and Jesus is Lord. I know how hard it is but God is for you.

 

[Sketcher]

So you fell off the wagon. You're not alone.

 

[Joined2krist]

We can all fall, not that it's a good thing or something to be proud of but sometimes it can happen to any one. One thing I find very helpful in maintaining consistency in Christian life is to be deliberate with your actions when it comes to your faith. "The spirit is willing but the body is weak" make out specific times to read your Bible and pray daily, this doesn't come naturally for most people, it's often as a result of living purposefully, cut off inappropriate content completely if you're prone to watch, make time out for fasting and attending spiritual retreats, these are a few examples of being deliberate in action. If you're consciously making efforts to avoid falling into certain sins, God will help you. The Bible says He gives more grace to the humble. A humble person turns to God for help, God bless

 

[Messerve]

Scripture states that there is a broad road that leads to destruction and a narrow road that leads to life. Just ask yourself honestly, for the most part, which road are you traveling on? If you're on the narrow road, you will fall into the ditches on either side of that road since no one is without sin. Just get back up and seek forgiveness; keep on that road. One way of measure is that the narrow road is traveled by those who occasionally sin as their lifestyle can be characterized as walking in the light (1 Jn 1:7). They still sin occasionally and when they do, they repent and keep walking in the light. Those who travel on the broad road are those who are habitually prone to sin as they continue to walk in darkness (1 Jn 1:6) and evidence no forsaking of sin and repentance. Hope that is of encouragement to you.

I never even thought of it that way! Thank you, that helps a ton.

 

[Messerve]

We can all fall, not that it's a good thing or something to be proud of but sometimes it can happen to any one. One thing I find very helpful in maintaining consistency in Christian life is to be deliberate with your actions when it comes to your faith. "The spirit is willing but the body is weak" make out specific times to read your Bible and pray daily, this doesn't come naturally for most people, it's often as a result of living purposefully, cut off inappropriate content completely if you're prone to watch, make time out for fasting and attending spiritual retreats, these are a few examples of being deliberate in action. If you're consciously making efforts to avoid falling into certain sins, God will help you. The Bible says He gives more grace to the humble. A humble person turns to God for help, God bless

Yeah, I have made progress in being more consistent with devotional times and prayer. I did a week long fast recently, and it was an amazing experience where God really seemed to speak to me and through me. That's why it's hard to find myself still weak in areas where I feel like I should be a total conqueror by now. I wonder sometimes why God doesn't take those weaknesses away and instead He lets me continue to battle them and sometimes fall? If I do something that dishonors Him, how can it really be used for His glory?

 

[Oldmantook]

I never even thought of it that way! Thank you, that helps a ton.

You're quite welcome. We're all fellow travelers seeking a common destination. When one of us stumbles and falls, we help each other up. Blessings as you continue your walk.

 

[Joined2krist]

Yeah, I have made progress in being more consistent with devotional times and prayer. I did a week long fast recently, and it was an amazing experience where God really seemed to speak to me and through me. That's why it's hard to find myself still weak in areas where I feel like I should be a total conqueror by now. I wonder sometimes why God doesn't take those weaknesses away and instead He lets me continue to battle them and sometimes fall? If I do something that dishonors Him, how can it really be used for His glory?

As Christians in the body of Christ, we are all required to work out our salvation with fear and thanksgiving in our hearts. Grace is already available to us all we need to do is to apply it constantly. God knows we can't be perfect or holy without him. Bring down those thoughts in your mind leading you to sin. Your battle is on your knees in prayer, God will help you but you have to ask Him and pull down those strong holds through prayer. Please read "The battlefield of the mind" by Joyce Meyer

 

[Messerve]

As Christians in the body of Christ, we are all required to work out our salvation with fear and thanksgiving in our hearts. Grace is already available to us all we need to do is to apply it constantly. God knows we can't be perfect or holy without him. Bring down those thoughts in your mind leading you to sin. Your battle is on your knees in prayer, God will help you but you have to ask Him and pull down those strong holds through prayer. Please read "The battlefield of the mind" by Joyce Meyer

Thanks! I agree. Some of it is thoughts, but it's also partially a circumstantial thing where I often feel lonely or neglected by those close to me and that feeling of being unwanted causes me to seek anything which will bring me temporary comfort.

I have been given many solutions to feeling lonely (volunteer more, find a spouse, etc) but at the end of the day, people may as well ask me to build a lifesize replica of the Eiffel Tower. It's just something I have to live with because I don't connect with most people and they don't connect to me.

So while I may be able to conquer my thoughts, I still have to deal with being lonely. And I only have so much control over that... But if I keep my thoughts pure during the day, I guess that will help.

The other week I was so angry and frustrated at being constantly neglected by my only friend, that I was very close to buying like ten boxes of cookies and just eating them like there's no tomorrow. But my common sense took over and I bought loads of trail mix instead. I can't even be depressed right.

 

[Ayenew]

How do you recover when you've fallen? How do you face the world again with confidence and not feel like a total hypocrite?

I feel it's better to focus and make ourselves busy with other good things than fighting sin face to face. If you are thinking about the sin and are trying to overcome it, the result will be most of the time failure.

After all God needs from us something more than overcoming sin; doing good (the positive way). It is probably when we are idle then sin gets space in our hearts. So, try to serve God and do good with every gram of your energy and keep "suffering" for this. Then you may have no time to think of your sins and I think the first verse of 1 Peter 4 has the same meaning.

 

[Messerve]

I feel it's better to focus and make ourselves busy with other good things than fighting sin face to face. If you are thinking about the sin and are trying to overcome it, the result will be most of the time failure.

After all God needs from us something more than overcoming sin; doing good (the positive way). It is probably when we are idle then sin gets space in our hearts. So, try to serve God and do good with every gram of your energy and keep "suffering" for this. Then you may have no time to think of your sins and I think the first verse of 1 Peter 4 has the same meaning.

Good point. Living alone I do have times when I am just idle and wasting time. Actually, there's always stuff to be done around home, but sometimes I'm just tired of chores and want something more fulfilling and enjoyable. Volunteering sometimes works, but I haven't really found a place to volunteer where I truly enjoy being there. It's more just kind of a task and I feel exhausted by the social interactions.

Spending time one on one with a friend is what energizes me and gets me going again. The other night I was simply texting my friend and somehow managed to wash all my dishes at the same time without even realizing! Usually they're laying around all week and I can't find the energy to do them...

I guess a spouse could have a similar effect on me. Someday.