Many of us have made mistakes. I am learning that there is nothing wrong with making a mistake as long as you learn from it.
It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit to forgive them for having witnessed your own. ~Jessamyn West
Mistakes are a part of life. Some mistakes are small, like making a right turn instead of a left, passing a street we should turn on, forgetting a time for an appointment. Some mistakes are a bit more detrimental; saying no when we really meant yes. Holding back our feelings or putting up a wall against those who need us most, making poor decisions and just doing wrong. All of them are a learning process. Some are more painful than others and we will have regret. Though I made a left and was suppose to go right I can make a U turn and be back where I started. Sometimes you have to go out of the way to get back in the direction you need to go.
Every time I use a GPS and don't follow the directions exactly it will say recalculating, then gives me further direction to get out of the jam I got in. Even worse sometimes it does not say anything for a while because it is thinking or internally recalculating and you’re waiting for that voice for direction. When you’re in a place that is unfamiliar it can be confusing, frustrating and downright scary. Have you ever been lost in New York City? YIKES!!
Never the less, with almost all mistakes you can correct them by rerouting or finding a different approach, however, we can't get the time back it took to make the mistake and the time it may take to correct it. Some correction is almost an immediate fix others may take some time; this is where the enemy can get really busy in your life. Through lack of self-control, patience and humility, conviction he can really make a mess of you taking the wrong turn.
In my walk with Christ, he has shown me that no matter the mistake I make he forgives me. I tend to take this same approach with people. To many times we take peoples mistakes and crucify them with it. Unfortunately, when we feel we have penalized them enough they are beyond repair or it takes longer than we want for the repair to take place.
Now with God it's different. Once we admit we made a mistake, he then has an expectation of us, just like we have an expectation of him when we are faithful. I learned that when I don't follow the directions of the GPS, if I am patient and LISTEN it recalculates then tells me what I need to do. In order to get back on track and be rerouted I must be obedient to the instruction. After the mistake when we repent or travel the road he expects, he has a way of taking us to a higher level than before, higher than we can imagine, because obedience is better than sacrifice. Being obedient in doing what we have learned to be right. He knows our hearts so he knows when we have truly repented from the mistake, but man does not know another man’s heart. Many times there’s a false representation of a man’s heart being displayed, but sooner or later it will come out.
But to God be the glory that he is an all knowing God; a God that sees all and hears all.
God I thank you for allowing me to make mistakes and I thank you even more for allowing me the opportunity to repent and correct them. I praise you for your patience with me, a patience that surpasses a man’s understanding. Show me your ways Lord so I may not stray.
It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit to forgive them for having witnessed your own. ~Jessamyn West
