Greetings, Precious Family:

May the Peace of the Lord be with you always.

Family,

There is a sentence from our last time together that has refused to leave me:

“And how many times have you mistaken inconsistency for disqualification?”

Family, I have been sitting with that question.

Because inconsistency and disqualification are not the same thing.

Inconsistency says, “I didn’t do it every time.”

Disqualification says, “Because I didn’t do it every time, I no longer belong here.”

And somewhere along this journey, many of us have confused the two.

We missed some days, so we decided we failed.

We stopped praying for a while, so we wondered whether we could still call ourselves faithful.

We lost our rhythm.

We broke our routine.

We became tired.

Life happened.

Grief happened.

Illness happened.

Disappointment happened.

And suddenly, what began as “I haven’t been consistent” became “Maybe I’m not who I thought I was.”

But Precious Family, hear me:

Dropping something does not mean you are disqualified from picking it back up.

Peter stumbled.

David stumbled.

Elijah had moments of extraordinary courage and moments when he wanted to give up.

The disciples walked beside Jesus Himself and still had moments of fear, confusion, doubt, and failure.

Yet God kept working.

God kept calling.

God kept restoring.

God kept loving.

Maybe we have been measuring faithfulness with the wrong ruler.

Who told us that faithfulness could only be measured by an unbroken streak?

Maybe faithfulness isn’t always never stopping.

Sometimes faithfulness is returning.

Returning to prayer.

Returning to hope.

Returning to the assignment.

Returning to yourself.

Returning to God.

Maybe the testimony isn’t, “I never dropped it.”

Maybe the testimony is:

“I learned that dropping it doesn’t mean I have to stop carrying it.”

Precious Family, perhaps wholeness was never going to look like 365 perfectly checked boxes.

Perhaps part of this Sacred Journey to Wholeness is discovering something far more beautiful:

Grace leaves room to return.

So if you have been standing at a distance from something God placed in your heart because you haven’t been consistent, perhaps today isn’t the day to condemn yourself.

Perhaps today is simply the day to pick it back up.

You are still on the journey.

And so am I.

                              Let Us Pray

Abba,

Thank You for being the God who meets us when we return.

Forgive us for the times we have mistaken our inconsistency for disqualification. When shame tells us that we have missed too many days, made too many mistakes, or wandered too far, remind us that Your grace still calls us closer.

Give us courage to pick up what we dropped.

Give us grace to begin again without punishing ourselves for the interruption.

Teach us that faithfulness is not always a perfect record. Sometimes faithfulness is simply turning our hearts toward You one more time.

And when we stumble along this Sacred Journey, remind us that we are still walking.

One step.

One return.

One act of faith at a time.

In the name of Christ Jesus, Amen, Amen,  and Amen.

Worship Video

Until we meet again, Precious Family, remember:

Inconsistency is not disqualification.
Grace leaves room to return. ❤️

Rev. Marcia Davis, BA, MA

Covington, GA (USA)