Jesus' Response When You Fall

March 14, 2024

We all fall down many times in life. We mess up. We blow it. 

Anybody want to give a testimony on that? We've all stumbled. Every time I wander, I get into trouble. The further I get away from God, the more problems I'm going to have in my life. The closer I get to the Shepherd, the fewer problems I'm going to have because he's going to be guiding me, guarding me, protecting me and directing me.

What do you think Jesus does when we fall? When we fail? How does Jesus Christ respond to us? 

Matthew 12:11-12 And Jesus answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! 

Jesus is saying if a sheep falls into a pit, good common sense means you're going to rescue it. You're going to lift it out, you're going to recover it. He said, well what about in your own life? Isn't God going to act that way towards you? 

How you think God responds to your failures matters. Because unless you get this right, you're going to avoid God every time you fail. It's going to cause you to pull away from God, instead of drawing close to him. If you think God is going to restore you and rescue you when you fail, you're going to run to him every time you mess up. But if you think God's going to scold you and belittle you, and give you a long sermon about it and condemn you, you're not going to go to God on that. Sometimes our own bad choices put us in a pit. And we find ourselves suffering the consequences. We’re trapped.

Jesus comes by and here's what he says. "Can I give you a hand out?" He doesn't make an excuse. "Can I help you out?" That's called being a Savior. He doesn't excuse it, he doesn't judge it. Jesus said, "I didn't come to judge the world, I came to save it. Can I give you a hand out?" That's the salvation that God offers. He says, "I want to help you." 

Psalm 71:20 You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.

Are you in a deep pit? Jesus says, "Let me help you out." You need a new life? Jesus says, "Be born again." This is the Good News. When you let Jesus be your Shepherd, you're no longer on your own. That takes away a lot of stress in your life. 

Proverbs 3:25-26 You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

Like that shepherd who's got that hook on the end of his staff, he'll pull us out of the briar bush. He'll pull us away from the edge of the cliff when we're about to go over. We don't have to be afraid. He wants to be our security. He'll keep us safe, he'll keep us from stumbling.