2. Strength After Failure

Knowing the God has chosen us gives us the power to get back up again after we’ve failed. If I know that God finishes what he starts, I can be sure that even though today was consumed by defeat, God’s decree for my tomorrow is victory.

That victory isn’t a matter of perfect health or a full bank account. It’s a matter of holiness. God didn’t choose us for a life of ease or comfort or wealth, but “that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:4). Most days that feels like it’s a long way off. But if I trust in Christ, I can be sure that it will happen. My future holiness is as sure as Jesus’!If God didn’t choose us because of our goodness, he’s not counting on our goodness to keep us saved. @jdgreearClick To Tweet

The reason so many Christians feel defeated is that they look at all the problems in their lives and ask, “How can I overcome this?” How can I end my addiction to pornography? How can I fix the problems in my marriage? How can I ever have the courage to share my faith?

But the burden of fixing your life has never been on you. In Christ, God has already decreed and supplied the power for it. The good works God has for you, he has already predestined for you, and he’s provided the power for you to do them. So when you fail—and you will, sometimes terribly—you can get back up. Righteousness isn’t shown by never falling; it’s shown by getting back up and trusting that God isn’t done with you yet.