In my failings, He is there

Being a pastor I find that there is a high demand for my perfect behavior. And there should be. Jesus himself said,

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:48

Perfection is my goal and it's a great goal. I want to say like Paul said,

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ

1 Corinthians 11:1

I can't ask people to imitate me if I am not striving to be perfect like my heavenly Father is perfect. But in my strive for perfection I still make mistakes. I fail. I say things that I shouldn't; things that I find myself later regretting. At times, during the night I repeat situations in my mind asking God to help me be better. And He is always there. In my failings He is there. I have to admit it has been during my times of failure that I have seen people who rise to love and forgive, but I have also seen that some people rise to do the opposite. David talks about these people,

He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were too mighty for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into a broad place;

he rescued me, because he delighted in me. 

Psalms 18:17-19

In the day of David's calamity, of his troublesome season, instead of people rising to comfort him, they rose to hate him; so much so that they were too strong for him. They rose in his moment of weakness, and instead of instilling hope and patience, they pushed him down. If you have people like this in your life, love them and forgive them, and decide not to be those kinds of people, so when they fail, you rise to love and help them.

But also know that the Lord will rescue you from people like that, He will be your support, He will bring you into a broad place, where you can breathe despite your failings and know that God will lift you up because he delights in you.

So if in your strive for perfection you make a mistake that people see. Do not be surprised if people judge you for it, rather get closer to God. He is the perfect friend. That is why David also said in that same chapter of his calamity,

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies

Psalm 18:1-3

Take heart in His promise. And remember,

Though a righteous man falls seven times,

he will get up

Proverbs 24:16