Walking the LineSample

I learn from my mistakes. It’s a very painful way to learn, but without pain, the old saying is, there’s no gain. —Johnny Cash

Even if good people fall seven times, they will get back up. But when trouble strikes the wicked, that’s the end of them. —Proverbs 24:16 CEV

Who would have nodded in sad agreement with Johnny Cash’s admission? David. The beloved second king of Israel. The psalmist and shepherd who killed a fearsome warrior with nothing but a sling and a rock. The ancestor of Jesus. The person God referred to as “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV). Though David was famous for his heroic loyalty, humility, honor, and devotion to God, he was also guilty of one of the most heinous acts of betrayal in all Scripture.

While a soldier named Uriah in David’s army was off fighting a war for his king and his people, David slept with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. When Bathsheba became pregnant, David worried that his adultery would be discovered. David arranged to have Uriah killed in battle so that he could marry Bathsheba—so that people wouldn’t question her pregnancy. In desperation, David lost sight of the fact that nothing can be hidden from God’s sight.

So David fell, spiritually speaking. And when he fell, he fell hard. The baby he conceived with Bathsheba died. The consequences of his sin—the death of his son—pushed David to the limits of his endurance. Yet he recognized those consequences as God’s discipline and humbly accepted them as such. That’s why he was able to write, “I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And You forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5 NIV). He also wrote, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:10–12 NIV).

Johnny Cash learned from his experience that God is more concerned with making us right with Him than protecting our feelings. That’s why He allows us to face the consequences of our actions. Johnny Cash also learned that discipline could ultimately strengthen our relationship with God. Even when our mistakes don’t involve wrongdoing, we can learn from them. As the passage from Proverbs at the beginning of this devotion points out, the key is to get back up every time we stumble.

Every time we do, we build a little more strength. A little more endurance. A little more wisdom as we learn from each stumble. A little more confidence. A little more character. Every time we get back up after stumbling, we make ourselves more valuable to others who stumble. More empathetic. More caring. More watchful.
As Johnny Cash pointed out, we’re not defined by our mistakes—but we can be improved by them.

Heavenly Father, thank You for not giving up on me when I stumble. Thank You for allowing me to learn and grow from my mistakes. Forgive me for the times when I fail You. Restore my relationship with You. Make me an instrument of healing in the lives of others who stumble. In Jesus’ name. Amen.