Hebrews 11, ″God's Hall of Faith″, could well be entitled ″God's Hall of Reclaimed Failures″. There is scarcely an individual without a serious blemish. But God is in the business of restoring failures. The spiritually successful Christian is not the person who never fails, but the believer who learns how to accept God's remedy for failure. No matter how far we fall, we never fall beyond the possibility of His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). But we need to learn from what we have done wrong and lay hold of the forgiveness of God. If we wallow in guilt, turn to self-pity, or make excuses, we will be overwhelmed by our failure.

Samson had never learned from his failures, but now, he is learning the reality of God's discipline in his life (see Hebrews 12:6-9). Sometimes, God must strip away everything that keeps us from trusting in Him. It may be a very painful process, but His purpose is not to destroy us; it is to build us up and teach us to trust in Him. God's discipline, designed to produce maturity and restore us to usefulness, is never isolated from His restoration.

But while forgiveness is immediate, restoration is gradual; it takes time for Samson's hair to grow. When a significant failure occurs in our lives, it is nearly always the result of sinful habits, accumulated over years of disobedience. Those habits must be unlearned and replaced by new ones, and that process takes time. We must also face the fact that God does not automatically erase the past; Samson does not receive new eyes. We must not minimise the seriousness of sin and its consequences. On the other hand, we must not miss the reality of God's forgiveness. He is able to turn the consequences of our sin into instruments for His glory.

Judges 16:28 gives us an insight into Samson's heart. It is a prayer of faith from a man who has been through God's refining fire. He has accepted God's forgiveness, has become totally dependent on Him, and is now committed to God. Having undergone the discipline of God, Samson is a new man, trusting in God and deriving his strength from God rather than from himself. Now his strength is disciplined by faith-but it took failure to teach him this response.

One of the hardest things to do is to accept forgiveness. We keep digging up the past, replaying our sins for every last ounce of guilt. But the cross repairs the irreparable and forgives the unforgivable. Our sin has been forgiven and dealt with for all eternity. Do not keep remembering and replaying your sin.