How to Recover From Mistakes

‘I made a mistake’- these are words that we sometimes struggle to say. It takes humility to admit to a mistake. We all make mistakes. Even those we consider successful in various aspects of their lives whether spiritually, family-wise, or career-wise would have made mistakes along their journey. The difference between a person who is considered successful and one who is unsuccessful is that the former acknowledges and learns from their mistakes whereas the latter doesn’t. I should say that “mistake” as used in this post is not intended to dilute the meaning of living in sin or the act of sin or sin in itself. Living in sin is a continuous transgression against God. The life of a believer is not a life of continuous transgression against God. However, when we stumble (make mistakes), we have the grace and provision to be on our feet again and to be restored. In the same vein, when we make mistakes in anything that pertains to every area of our lives, we can make amends and recover from them.  

2 Samuel 12:1-24 details Nathan confronting David about his sin. He starts off with the story of a rich man who had many animals but took away the only animal a poor man had. This rich man used this animal from the poor man for food! Imagine someone taking away the very little that you have and using it for their own pleasure! Upon hearing this story, David became furious and passed judgement that the rich man should be punished. But Nathan very quickly reveals that David is that very same rich man. God gave David everything, yet David took away the only possession Uriah (David’s soldier) had, his dear wife Bathsheba. Not only that, he took Uriah’s life so that he could have Bathsheba all to himself.

Upon reading this story we immediately think of the hypocrisy of David in passing judgement on the rich man in the scenario presented by Nathan while failing to see his own faults. But many times, just like David, the errors of others are enlarged while our errors are diminished or almost non-existent in our own eyes. Unfortunately, it’s human to focus on other people’s faults while neglecting ours. But it is divine to realize your own faults without overemphasizing the faults of others. So, the question today is, what do you do when you make a mistake?

Acknowledge your mistake, Confess, and Repent.

There is so much to learn from the next couple of verses of 2 Samuel 12. Firstly, in verse 13,  after Nathan highlights David’s sins, David responds, ‘I have sinned against the Lord’. This is the first step to take right after you make a mistake. Admit the mistake, confess, humble yourself and acknowledge that you didn’t do it right. At this stage, you may be tempted to run away from God out of shame but resist the temptation to do so. God is not surprised at your mistakes, He knows even before you make them! When we confess our sins, we can obtain God’s mercy and mercy from those we may have offended. Our hearts will be set free!  However, the consequences of our actions many times are inevitable. There is a price to pay for your mistakes and we must face God’s righteous judgement. Nathan tells David “The Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die. But since you have shown total contempt for the Lord by this affair, the son that is born to you must die.”

Make amends where necessary

When the consequences of our mistakes stare us right in the face, the right step we should take is to make amends and do everything within our strength to salvage the situation if possible. Some mistakes are costly and unsalvageable, however, we can show sincere remorse to whoever we have offended and come before God with a truly repentant heart. We might have to work hard to regain the trust of friends, family, and loved ones. Reach out to those you have sinned against, if there is anything you could do for them to make their life a little easier, take that upon yourself and go the extra mile. Do this with all your heart. David tried to salvage the situation, he sought the face of God to spare the child’s life. He fasted and laid down on the floor. However, it was too late, the child still died (2 Samuel 12:13-19).

The life of a believer isn’t mistake-free but should be guilt-free. All the same, mistakes are not meant to be repeated, they should be an opportunity to learn in our relationship with God and men. Share on X

Seek Restoration and Fellowship

After the death of the child,  David doesn’t go back to God angrily saying ‘Lord I already apologized for this! Why did you allow my child to die! I fasted, prayed, I made a mistake. I’m only human! What about all the good I’ve already done for your glory! Does that not count for anything!’. Instead, David gets up, dresses up, and worships God! That’s our final step right there! Worship God even though you have to face the consequences of your mistake. 

Proverbs 26:11-12 Like a dog that returns to its vomit, a fool does the same foolish things again and again.

After all the bad decisions David made, God still refers to him as a ‘man after His heart’. David’s attitude when confronted with his error is phenomenal. When you make mistakes do what David did. Don’t let one mistake and its consequences discourage you from taking the right step towards restoration and fellowship both with the person offended (where applicable) and God Almighty. Humble yourself, acknowledge your mistake and seek forgiveness. Don’t be too proud to say, ‘I made a mistake…’ The life of a believer isn’t mistake-free but should be guilt-free. All the same, mistakes are not meant to be repeated, they should be an opportunity to learn in our relationship with God and men.