Morning Devotional 090925 Stumble! Fall! Get Up! Try Again! Repeat!

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

September 9, 2025

James 4:7-10

7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Cry out in sorrow, mourn, and weep! Let your laughter turn to mourning and your joy to sadness. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Good Morning! Our God is an awesome God!

One of the characteristics that makes me able to persevere is my stubbornness. I don’t like to give up, and I don’t like to lose in winnable situations. I begin a project or undertaking with the belief that with work, I can accomplish my goal. Sadly, that overachiever part of me wants to excel at completing the task. 

As a young piano student, I had a strong perfectionist trait that made it very difficult for me to be satisfied with my performance. Then the stubborn trait allowed me to persevere and continue forward, ever striving for perfection. Over time, I've learned that mistakes are unavoidable, and the key is not letting them take over your mindset. 

I think of the gymnasts that I watch during the Olympics. Inevitably, they will be unable to complete their routine as practiced. I gasp when someone falls during their beam routine, and sit and watch in amazement at those who can get back on the beam and complete their routine, often to perfection. 

We are called to humble ourselves before God, and God will steady our steps. John Wesley believed that we are saved by God’s grace. We begin with the grace with which we are blessed before we know God (Prevenient). When we become aware of God and choose to follow Christ, we enter a time of Justifying grace, recognizing and beginning our journey. The acceptance of Christ is our first act of humbling ourselves before God. 

Then we start this period of Sanctifying grace during which we walk and stumble, read Scripture and question, serve and hurt others. Each shortcoming is followed by God’s grace to get up and try again. We play a wrong note, we fall off the beam, but by God’s grace, we practice and practice some more. 

Wesley saw this time as our journey towards perfecting grace. That perfection that can be attained only by persistence and faith in God’s unending, abundant grace.  

Loving Lord, you bless us abundantly! We struggle to let go and give control to you. It takes time to do so, but you wait until we are ready. Thank you. We love you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day: Humble yourself and find your way filled with blessings. 

Stumbling on the way to perfecting grace! Pastor Liz