Men Who Stumble, Men Who Walk

Larry is the safety director for a large company, with hundreds of men under his watch. He's a tall, strong man—a former police officer. Nevertheless, he gets tears in his eyes when he talks about our mutual friend Tom.

"I walked into a church building three years ago," Larry says, "but I wouldn't have come back if Tom hadn't been there to shake my hand and make me feel at home. Because of him I'm walking with the Lord today."

There's something powerful about a genuine friendship between two men who love the Lord. And there's something highly motivational about the biblical texts that appeal directly to our masculine instincts.

What man doesn't sense the call to heroism in Moses' challenge to "be strong and courageous" (Joshua 1:9)? What Christian father doesn't connect with Joshua's bold resolution, "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15)? What man of faith wouldn't want to be like Hananiah, who "was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do" (Nehemiah 7:2)?

My wife framed one of my favorite verses of Scripture and placed it on a shelf in my office. It's Isaiah 32:8, which says, "the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands."

Recently, though, I noticed an Old Testament verse that moves me in a different way. It says, "though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity" (Proverbs 24:16).

I know lots of men who stumble and fall, and I've done a fair amount of stumbling myself. How can you be considered "a righteous man" if you keep falling down over and over again? What about all of us who have tried to lead our households well, but we've made countless mistakes along the way? What about all the guys who regret the foolish choices we made in our pre-Christian days? And what about all the fathers who missed precious opportunities to be there for our kids when they were young?

Since "the wicked are brought down by calamity," how can there be any hope for imperfect men who stumble again and again?

You don't have to read very far in the Bible before you encounter flawed men who were saved by the flawless mercy of a gracious God. Adam stumbled when he ate the forbidden fruit. Noah stumbled when he got drunk. Abraham stumbled when he lied about his wife to Pharaoh. Moses stumbled when he angrily struck the rock in the wilderness. Jonah stumbled when he ran from God's call. James and John stumbled when they demanded places of honor in God's kingdom. Peter stumbled when he denied the Lord three times. These men made their mistakes, but they also made their peace with God and served him well.

"Even youths grow tired and weary," wrote the prophet, "and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:30, 31). Renewed strength—that's what the apostle Paul found, even though in his younger days he was "a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man" before "the grace of our Lord was poured out" on him (1 Timothy 1:13, 14). Thankfully, that same grace is available today.

Larry and his friend Tom have learned a secret every man needs to discover. "Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again"—and when he rises, he finds the Lord still walking by his side.