“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” —Proverbs 24:16

Holiness is not found in never falling, but in rising again and again, trusting that God’s mercy is deeper than our failures. —D.

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The world would have you believe that failure is final, that every stumble marks you, that each mistake carves its tally into your soul. But that is not the way of God. His way is quieter, steadier—a hand held out, a voice saying, Get up. Not once, not twice, but a thousand times, if that’s what it takes. Holiness is not built in the absence of failure, but in the rising after each fall.

So you say, Lord, I’ve fallen again. I am what I am—fragile, weak. Without You, I can do nothing but miss the mark. And He hears you. Not as an accuser, not as a judge eager to condemn, but as a Father who knows what it is to teach a child to walk. The grief is real, yes—the ache of knowing you’ve fallen short, of knowing you were made for more. But the grief is not the end of the road. The answer is not to linger in the dust, not to bow to the old voice that whispers you are lost beyond return. The answer is to rise.

Do not drag your past behind you like a burden. Do not measure forgiveness in doubts and second guesses. Jesus Christ is nearer than you think, listening, holding you up even when you do not feel it. Trust that He is as merciful as He has promised; His grip is true. And then—move forward. If you fall again, humble yourself again. Each time with the same certainty that His mercy is deeper than your weakness, His strength steadier than your wavering steps.

Thank Him, praise Him—not from duty, not from guilt, but as a defiant act against the lie that you are too broken to be loved. Every fall, every rising, pulls you closer, not further away. And that is the great mystery—that failure, when placed in Christ’s hands, is not a wall but a bridge. The path to holiness is not in being flawless. It is in the getting up, the trying again, the refusal to believe that God’s grace has limits. Rise, and rise again. He is calling you still.