DC Talk is not the only ones that worry about stumbling! You are probably reading this because you are either worried about stumbling or you have already fallen and you are looking for some sign that there is still hope for your journey!
Isaiah 40:30-31 says “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
The second half of this verse is always used to encourage people who are tired, or spiritually weak to keep pushing on, but there is an amazing first part that is almost never read, but the truth that is spoken is no less amazing! “Even youths [that’s you and I] grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall [emphasis mine]. How amazing is it that even as far back as the book if Isaiah, does the Bible acknowledge that we will stumble, we will fall!
The hardest lesson that we have to learn is that in the pursuit of purity, you will have times when you fall back into those old ways! In every accountability relationship that I have ever been in, there comes a season where the mentee (the guy that I am mentoring / holding accountable) wants to give up because they “don’t see any progress”. They are allowing themselves to buy into the lie of the devil that says something like, “you are not good enough”, “look you messed up today”, or “you are still having those thoughts, you’re not changed”.
You are going to struggle, you are going to have days when the “flesh is weak”! The amazing thing is that we serve a God who is able to do “exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ever ask or think” (Eph 3:20)
The Pursuit of purity is a journey, not a sprint! The process of changing your mind and methods, your habits and heart is a life long process. If you are struggling with pornography, masturbation, homosexuality, or are abusing sexual relationships, you didn’t get that way overnight, you didn’t just wake up one morning and say, “I think that I am going to become addicted to sex today”, it was a slow process that began with just one step followed by a continual decline, until you are where you are today! In like manner, being a man of integrity is going to be a journey that starts today with just one step, followed by a continual walk toward Christ-likeness!