Most of us who ride are aquatinted with going down. Anything from dropping the bike on gravel to an all out wreck. It doesn't matter what end of that spectrum we have found ourselves at, the experience is always unnerving and after it happens we are presented with the same choice.
We can choose to ride again, or to give up.
If we choose to ride, those first few miles on the bike are not easy ones. I remember after I locked breaks and went down to avoid a deer, I expected to see them everywhere, especially riding in early morning or dusk.
Hopefully we learned something from the experience, but the best thing to do is to put it out of our mind and ride again.
Reading Philippians 3 today,
"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:13-14 (NIV)
Satan is very good at the one-two punch. First he will entice us to sin and then when we have given in, he will do all he can to make us feel guilty about it.
Conviction is from God, it leads to repentance, forgiveness and freedom. Guilt is from the enemy, it leads to bondage and hopelessness.
In our walk with the Lord we may stumble, fall, or even wreck. But if we do, there is forgiveness waiting for us. That is grace.
Once we repent, it's time to go full throttle down the road. We need to forget what is behind us, for the Lord truly has.
"The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:8-12 (NIV)
