Day Two

“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” (Mic. 7:8)

Scripture Reading: Micah 7:8–10

Sometimes our departures from God result from willful disobedience and premeditated sin—the wide-eyed sin we practically pencil in on our calendars. We’ve all experienced times when we knew we were about to do or say something that was willful, arrogant sin. We’ve all committed it and it’s not pretty. “Falling” into sin develops from a different scenario. Although it equally misses the mark and requires the same repentance and forgiveness, falling into sin is not willful disobedience. In Micah 7:8, the word fallen comes from the Hebrew word naphal. The Hebrew lexicon states: “The main idea behind this root is a violent or accidental circumstance or event.”1

I have a scar on my knee from falling over broken concrete while jogging one morning. I did not throw myself over the concrete on purpose; still the fall was my fault because I should have been watching where I was going. As I brushed off my hands and knees, I felt foolish and, frankly, was on the verge of tears. As the blood dripped into my sock, a passerby asked if she could take me home. I declined because I was too proud to let her. Ashamed, I hobbled my way home.

I’ve certainly committed premeditated sin, but I’ve also “fallen” into sin. I’ve been jogging along in my Christian life, become distracted with the scenery, believed I had things under control, stopped watching where I was going, and wham! Fallen into sin.

Falling into sin issues a unique invitation to the enemy. When we’re involved in willful sin, Satan only has to cheer us on; but when we “fall,” he sows shame and “gloats” over us. He makes us feel foolish because we thought we were making progress. When we blow it, he constantly attempts to reinforce our worst fear: we’re failures and we’re never going to get it right. The shame is almost instantaneous.

When we fall, we must get up, allow God to immediately drive us home and bind up our wounds of foolishness. We must choose whether to play or to avoid the shame game. If we refuse to let the enemy gloat over us, our falls will become fewer and less violent. Our falls will become stumbles.

Is the memory of a bad fall still getting to you? Rather than allowing the enemy to continue to gloat over you, allow God to guide you. Have guts enough to say: “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise—stronger than ever, alert and watching.”

Satan’s mission is to trip us. I have a physical scar that reminds me every day of a spiritual reality. Please don’t wait until you have a scar to learn the lesson. Don’t take your eyes off the path—no matter how many times you’ve run that way before. Look to the One “who is able to keep you from falling” (Jude 24).