“Well my poor heart...”
St. Francis de Sales
St. Francis de Sales once wrote in his diary, “Well, my poor heart, here we are! Fallen into the ditch which we had made so firm a resolution to avoid. Let us implore the mercy of God and trust that He will help us be more steadfast in the future. And let us place ourselves again on the path of humility. Courage, soul! Henceforth, let us be more on our guard. God help us; and we shall do well enough.”
Thoughts
March 4, 2007
As I face my failures on a daily basis, there is a temptation to believe that I have forfeited my chance to be the man God desires or a good example to others. I hear shouted in my ear, “Hypocrite!” The media loves to throw that word at Christians that publicly fail. I think it lets them believe since no one is “good” then saying anything is wrong is unacceptable. In truth it validates Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
When I was in college, I memorized this quote by St. Francis de Sales. It drowns out the accusations of the world by stating several truths:
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There is a perfect standard to pursue. -
We will always fall short.
And when we do fall short we:
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accept God’s forgiveness
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trust in God’s help
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recommit to the standard
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take courage
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take corrective steps
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will do well enough with God’s help
May God fill you with His grace as we “place ourselves again on the path of humility.”
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