The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.  Psalm 37:23-24 NASB

Growing up we always had horses. I never had an ATV, but I had several horses. My dad made sure that my sisters had a horse and my mom even had her own horse. But my dad also made sure that these horses were gentle and easily controlled. He always carefully observed a horse and if he did not ride it himself, he observed someone else riding it. He observed it’s behavior and it’s mannerisms. He wanted to be sure that the horse was safe. When he brought the horse home and allowed us to get on it, he was confident that aside from any error on our part we would not be thrown from this horse. Now if the horse sensed a nervousness in us, that could make the horse nervous. This is what I mean by error on our part. If we held the reins too tightly that could cause a problem. There are several things you can do to cause a gentle horse to become upset. But one thing my dad always told me is to maintain control. If I lost control, he was angry at me, not the horse. He also made it crystal clear that if I was thrown from that horse, I would have to get back on it. Otherwise a good horse could be ruined. Now I am happy to say that between my dad’s careful vetting of the horses and his teaching me to be confident and in control, I was never thrown. I had a few close calls when I would do something wrong or the horse would be spooked, but in both cases, my dad was nearby and reminded me to stay on and regain control.

You may have heard someone say, “If you fall off the horse, just get back up in the saddle.” That’s easier said than done. Because another saying is, “Once bitten, twice shy.” When we fail at something or something doesn’t work out, we tend to shy away from it.  When things don’t go our way, our natural tendency is to give up and move on. In the few instances where I was almost thrown from a horse, my dad made me stay in the saddle and continue to ride until I regained control and confidence.

When God calls us to do something, and we fail, we can’t give up. Galatians 6:9 tells us to not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. When God calls us to do something, we must move forward. We must stay focused on God. Because we are human, we sometimes make mistakes. Things don’t always work out as we had planned. But, we must not give up.

When we sin, the devil wants us to feel as though we have failed and there is no hope. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. David was a mighty warrior, a mighty man of God, but he failed God when he sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband murdered. God took his son as the penalty for his sin (2 Samuel 12:14). But God later gave His own son, from the lineage of David, to pay for our sin. Just because we fail doesn’t mean that we give up and doom ourselves to hell. It means we confess our sin, repent, ask God to send His Holy Spirit to help us not to do it again. We don’t give up. We get back in the saddle and ride on. Our scripture passage tells us that even if we fall we will not be hurled headlong. We can grab God’s hand and allow Him to help us up and move on.

So if you have fallen into sin, there is no better time to get out of it. Get up, dust your britches off and pull yourself up and back into that saddle. You can ride on in confidence knowing that God will hold you up with His righteous hand (Isaiah 41:10).

I don’t know why God allows us to fail, but I know that my failures have taught me humility. They have taught me to trust in Him. I have learned that they happen for a reason and that even if I don’t know that reason, I can rest assured that He has good plans for me (Jeremiah 29:11). I know that He’s a good, good Father and whatever happens in our lives, even the failures, all work for the good when we love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). So trust in Him today through the good times, the successes and the failures. And whatever you do, don’t give up. He’s there for you and He will help you up when you fall and guide you along the way.

Have a great day!