If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

1 John 2:1

As believers in Christ, we have received the Holy Spirit to understand God’s will. We also have access to His grace for faithful living, but there are times when we fail our Lord. Do we want or intend to fail? Of course not. Will we fail? Yes. But a dangerous trap is laid in front of us when we do fail because we can become overwhelmed by guilt and think that we’ve ruined our life. In one case, Paul expressed concern about a brother who had failed, and he gave instructions to “forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow” (2 Cor 2:7). Unless we are careful, failure will cause discouragement, which will lead to doubt, which will lead to defeat. Satan loves to see defeat. He is “the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night” (Rev. 12:10).

If we stay in defeat mode, we will begin to die spiritually. Satan whispers, “You’ve messed up your life; you’re a failure; there’s no hope for you; God is so disappointed in you.” These are common taunts by the enemy, but we need to remember what God says about failure. In Revelation chapters 2-3, Christ pointed out sins in some of the seven churches, and He told them what they needed to do. He says, “So be earnest and repent” (Rev. 3:19). Jesus promises abundant blessings to those who would take His advice.

Jesus cares for each of us individually. He said that if 100 sheep are in a fold and one goes astray, the shepherd will search for the one lost sheep until he finds it. Jesus has already died for us; the redemption is already paid. He is now at the Father’s right hand interceding for us. Jesus wants us back even if we fail. That’s how much He loves us. He said, “Come to me,… and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:29).