Failure Turned Inside Out

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (NIV)

Two years ago I made a small resolution at the New Year, one that I knew was attainable if I kept my focus and remembered to ask God daily for His help. This year, I renewed that small resolution because I can now see the benefit regular exercise has been to my health.

Many of us made New Year's resolutions, and while some have succeeded in meeting our goals, others may have already given up in discouragement. "Failed" is an ugly word that means unsuccessful, bungled, slipshod, inferior, abortive, and futile. On the days leading up to New Year's Day, when we had indulged in food, gift giving, and parties with friends, it was easy to promise ourselves that as of midnight on January first, or maybe a few hours later when we came home from the party, we would start the year off on the right foot. Perhaps we said we'd exercise more, or maybe we pledged to take more time to be with our family, or spend time in meditation and renewing the inner self. Now that we are a few weeks into the year and we've slipped up on our promises to ourselves, it would be so easy to give up and go back to living life as we were before.

Instead, let's think of ourselves as children, God's children, learning life's lessons by taking one step at a time — and if we fall, we get up and dust ourselves off and go forward again.

Prayer: Dear God, we come today asking You remind us that we are children, Your children, and that You are there to help us if we fall, to lift us up, and to help us start over again. Amen.

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