So many times, our emotions stand in the way of us trying again. We fall off and never get back on in fear of what people will say or do when they see us picking ourselves up again. Behind the shadows of broken hearts and difficult childhoods lie the key to success that many of us are afraid to reveal, trying again, to love, to forgive, to let go, to allow God to lead our lives.
In late November I received a word from God. I had attended an anniversary service for a church where a prominent bishop in the area spoke as the mouthpiece of the Lord for the evening. I needed a word from the Lord, or at least I thought I did. So, I made my way to the alter and gripped the hand of the man of God before me. He looked me in the eyes and said, “Try Again”, for lack of better words I was shocked at the simplicity of the message. He continued by saying that when I try again, I would then get my “Holy Ghost Roll.” I smiled warmly as he released his grip on my hand and I returned to my seat staring into the voids of the sanctuary to avoid eye contact with any prying eyes who wondered the details of the message I had received. I carried these simple words heavily throughout the next few weeks. I wondered what trying again looked like for me.
Spiritually, I knew that it meant taking my time with God more serious. So, I began to pray. I had to start somewhere. I had so many weights at the time that I did not realize I was carrying that needed to be released to God. As I began to pray each night, I started to notice changes in myself. I would pray against the enemy and the anxiety I felt about the end of the semester. It took about a week of praying to notice that God had lifted the anxiety from my life. I was motivated to finish my work and with three eight to ten-page papers to face I knew without a doubt that it was God who allowed me to focus on my work and not the stress like I struggled to do in the past.
I realized that God was waiting for me to try again at my relationship with him. I Had fallen off and my disobedience and distance caused a backup of the blessings he needed to release for my season to be successful. Sometimes its not just people who we are afraid to see us trying to pick ourselves back up, but the fear of letting God back in after failing him.
I think it is important to realize that trying again over and over each day is what really makes us Christian. If there was no need to try again over and over then there would be no need for our faith in Christ. If we never needed to try again then our faith would be in ourselves and our perfect ability to never fall instead of the ever-redeeming blood of Jesus Christ that washes us clean each time we present ourselves to him.
My advice on trying…. Again, is to keep trying. The ability to really try again is the gift of God’s unconditional love for us.