Not Utterly Cast Down

A common nocturnal creature in Sri Lanka is the polecat.

They often live in the rafters and ceilings of homes and can be very noisy when they run around. One night, a baby polecat fell through the pergolas above my family’s fishpond. It landed in a flower bed on the wall. My husband and I heard its continuous cry but were unable to reach the poor creature to help it escape.

At one point, as it was running through the flower beds, it fell into the pond below and quickly swam across it and sought shelter in a corner.

I brought a fishing net and tried to scoop it up to let it outside, but the little creature bared its teeth and hissed at me. When it fell back into the pond, I was able to quickly scoop it into the net, and we released it outside. We saw the baby polecat reunite with its mother, and we felt happy that the ordeal for this little creature was finally over.

However, for three consecutive nights, we experienced this same dilemma.

Each time the rescue was done in good faith, but the little creature did not understand our help. It remained defensive, hissing at us each time.

Contemplating this experience, I was reminded how we are often like this polecat. We keep falling into sin, and God is always ready to rescue us.

But too often, we are defensive and reject His love.

This promise gives us hope: “Even if godly people fall down seven times, they always get up. But those who are evil trip and fall when trouble comes” (Proverbs 24:16, NIrV). Before we can fall down, we first have to be upright. So even though the righteous may fall many times, when they confess, God always forgives and restores.

John reminds us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NASB).

The unrighteous, on the other hand, never get up because they remain fallen.

Keep getting up, friend! And remember that God loves you!

Tina (Reith) Perera