October 10, 2025 • 26 mins
What if your relapse doesn’t disqualify you? It’s just the beginning of your rebuild.
In this soul-piercing episode of Rooted & Recovered, Dan Pyles speaks directly to the weary, the ashamed, and the ones who’ve lost count of how many “day ones” they’ve had. This isn’t a message for the perfect—it’s for the fighters who are tired of falling, but still refuse to stay down.
If you’ve ever whispered, “I thought I was past this…”
If you’ve ever walked into a room with your head low, wondering if anyone still believes in you…
If you’ve ever felt like your scars scream louder than your story…
This one’s for you.
Dan doesn’t sugarcoat it—starting over hurts. But grace wasn’t built for perfect track records. It was built for restarts. For relapses. For redemption.
Key Highlights:
- Why relapse isn’t the end—it’s a doorway to transformation
- The real emotional weight of having to start over again
- How shame tries to silence you—and why grace tells a different story
- Why you're not starting from scratch—you’re starting from scars, wisdom, and grit
- The sacred power of a comeback shaped by humility and fire
- A hard but healing truth: Jesus didn’t die so you could keep a perfect record—He died because you couldn’t.
Scriptures Covered:
- Proverbs 24:16
“Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…” - Lamentations 3:22–23
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning…” - Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” - Romans 5:6
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
Final Truth:
You are not weak for starting over; you’re strong because you didn’t stay down. Grace doesn’t roll its eyes when you come crawling back. Heaven celebrates every comeback, every restart, every brave step back into the light. You’re not behind—you’re becoming. This isn’t your last shot. It’s your next beginning.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This world doesn't hand outhealing.
(00:02):
It offers quick fixes, cheappies and empty promises, but
real recovery, it takes roots.
Roots that dig deep into truth,into identity, into the
unshakeable grace of God.
We're not here to sugarcoat thestruggle.
We've lived it.
(00:22):
Addiction, shame, relapse,regret, but we've also seen
resurrection.
We've seen what has.
Happens when broken people getanchored in something real
rooted and recovered is morethan a podcast.
It's a battleground for thesoul.
A place where scars tellstories, where scripture speaks
louder than shame, where freedomisn't just a word.
(00:46):
It's a war we win daily.
So if you're tired of surfacelevel answers, if you want truth
that convicts, hope that heals,and conversations that cut
through the noise, you're in theright place.
Welcome to Rooted and Recovered.
Dan (01:07):
Welcome to another episode of Rooted and Recovered.
I'm your host, Dan Pyles.
I just wanna say once again,family.
I'm so thankful that I have theprivilege and honor to walk this
journey with you that we callrecovery.
Thank you so much for allowingme, uh, into your home, your,
(01:28):
your vehicle, your ear, howeveryou're listening to this podcast
today.
Thank you so much.
From the bottom of my heart, Idon't, I, it's been a while
since I've done anything likethis, but I just want to take
just a few moments and do somehousekeeping.
Uh, if you find this podcasthelpful.
One of the biggest ways that youcan support is by simply sharing
(01:52):
this podcast with your familyand friends.
So if you, if you love thispodcast, if you've gotten
something from this podcast,please.
Take just a few moments andshare it with somebody that
could so desperately need thelife-changing story in their
life.
(02:13):
And it's nothing I'm doing orsaying it's, it has nothing to
do with me, but it's the spiritof God.
in these episodes.
Guys, we got another powerfulepisode today.
Uh, today's episode is calledWhen You're Tired of Starting
Over.
(02:35):
Let me guess, family, I, I'mspeaking to someone who is just
tired.
You're exhausted.
Not just physically tired, butsoul tired.
You're tired of the cycle, tiredof the promise you made to
(02:58):
yourself that you didn't keep.
Tired of the hope that rose upin you just to fall flat again.
You've lost count of how manyday ones you've had.
You've thrown away thecigarettes, you've thrown away
(03:20):
the alcohol.
You've thrown away the dope.
You deleted that number.
You uninstalled that app.
You made that vow.
You wrote that journal entry.
You've done all the right thingsonly to find yourself crawling
back to square one more timesthan you care to admit.
(03:47):
And now here you go again.
Another morning, another prayer.
Another attempt to believe thatmaybe just maybe this time will
be different, but deep down,you're not even sure if you
(04:09):
believe that anymore.
Come on family.
I know I'm talking to somebodybecause starting over hurts.
Let's be honest, it, it hurts tohope again.
It hurts to try again.
It hurts to admit yet again thatyou need help.
(04:37):
And the worst part, the shame,that voice in your head that
says You should be past this bynow, you're a joke.
God's definitely done with youthis time.
People are tired of hearing yousay that this time is different.
(05:02):
You've got battle wounds, familythat no one can see on your
heart, on your identity, on yourconfidence.
Every failed attempt feels likeanother reason to give up
completely.
But let me tell you somethingthat will silence that voice of
(05:24):
shame once and for all.
You ready?
You're not weak because you'restarting over.
You're strong because you refuseto stay down.
Yeah, you might be limping, youmight be dragging your past
behind you.
(05:44):
You might be starting at squareone for the 10th or the
hundredth time, but guess what?
Family you showed up, you arehere and that matters.
Come on.
We gotta get this clear.
God doesn't get annoyed withyour comebacks.
He doesn't grow weary of yourattempts to change.
(06:06):
He isn't rolling his eyes whenyou come back to him again.
Heartbroken and embarrassed andempty.
You know what he does?
He welcomes you every singletime.
Why?
Because Grace was built just.
For this grace was made forstarting over and you've still
(06:28):
got breath in your lungs family,then Grace is still flowing
toward your life.
You see, failure isn't the endof your story.
It's the doorway to yourtransformation.
Every time you start over, youare choosing faith over fear.
(06:50):
You are choosing grace overguilt.
You are choosing purpose overperfection.
You see, the enemy wants you tobelieve that your repeated
failures means that you'reunworthy.
but God says your return isproof of your redemption.
(07:13):
there's power Family in yourrestart.
There's purpose in your process,and there's grace in every
gritty, painful, courageous stepforward.
so to the ones who tired ofstarting over, you're not
starting from scratch.
(07:34):
You're starting from experience,from wisdom, from resilience.
From grit you didn't have thelast time, and you're bringing
more to the table this time, notless family.
So let shame sit down and bequiet.
(07:55):
Tell guilt to lose its grip inyour life and let grace today
remind you of who you are A son.
A daughter, a fighter, asurvivor, a walking testimony
that Grace still works.
(08:17):
Family.
This episode is for you, the onewho has started over more times
than they can count, and stillhas the audacity to believe that
this time something can change.
Yeah, you're tired.
Not just tired in your body.
Not just tired in your mind.
(08:39):
Family.
You're tired in your soul.
Tired of failing.
Tired of slipping backwards.
Tired of the cycle.
Sin.
Shame, silence, repeat.
I know family.
'cause I've been there.
I've done that.
I know what this feels like.
(09:00):
You're tired of believing inbreakthrough only to find
yourself broken again.
You lost count of how many timesyou've whispered, I'm done.
Not because you want to give up,but because you're afraid
nothing will change.
But I come to tell you today,God is not afraid of your
(09:22):
repeats, and grace is notthreatened by your relapses.
There's a shame that comes whenstarting over.
It's not just guilt.
Family.
It's humiliation.
It's walking back into church,feeling like everyone knows it's
(09:43):
showing up to your group withyour head down.
It's looking in the mirror andthinking, man, I really thought
that I was past this.
I really thought that I shouldbe further in my recovery than I
am right now.
(10:05):
You know what makes it worse?
Because you and I have hadvictories before.
We've been clean for months,may, maybe years.
We've testified on platforms.
We've prayed with power.
We've led people, and now herewe are.
Starting over again and theenemy, that stinking bum will
(10:33):
whisper in our ears.
You're a fake.
You have run your witness.
God's done with you.
But listen to me in the name ofJesus family, none of those
voices are truth becausescripture.
(10:53):
Doesn't say the righteous neverfall.
You know what?
Proverbs 24 16 tells us though,the righteous fall seven times.
Guess what?
They rise again.
Let that hit your soul.
Falling doesn't erase yourrighteousness.
(11:16):
Getting up family is whatconfirms it.
What if God.
Measures by getting back up.
What if, think about this forjust a moment.
What if God doesn't keep scorethe way we think he does?
(11:36):
What if he doesn't say, oh, wellthat's failure number six.
Or, well, you know what?
Strike three buddy, you're out.
Or, ah, man, you were doing sowell, but.
Now I'm disappointed.
Nah.
(11:57):
What if every time you riseagain, heaven throws a
celebration?
What if grace is louder thanguilt?
What if your comeback shoutslouder than your collapse?
See, the enemy wants yourrelapse to be your identity, but
(12:19):
God wants it to be your turningpoint.
He doesn't define you by yourfall family.
He defines you by hisfaithfulness.
Remember a couple episodes wetalked about Lamentations.
three verses 22 and 23.
It says, because of the Lord'sgreat love, we are not consumed.
(12:42):
For his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning.
Do you know what that means?
That if you woke up today, gracewoke up with you family.
You're not starting fromscratch.
You're starting from experience.
(13:04):
Let's break that lie once andfor all.
You are not starting from zero.
You're not back at thebeginning.
Yeah, you're starting again.
But this time with more wisdom,more awareness, more truth, more
grit.
(13:25):
You know the path better thistime, you'll see the trap sooner
and you'll recognize the triggerquicker.
And maybe the fall didn't takeyou out.
Think about this.
Maybe it taught you how to fightbetter.
Maybe it exposed a place thatstill needed healing in your
(13:46):
life.
Maybe it stripped away somepride that you and I didn't know
we had.
Maybe it broke something off ofyou so that something better
could be built.
Family.
That's not failure, that'sformation.
You see, picture a house with mefor just a moment and I'm not a
(14:08):
contractor at all.
God didn't give me the abilityto be able to build things.
But picture a house underconstruction, the framing goes
up, the roof gets built, butthen a storm comes through and
knocks it down.
(14:29):
Feels like you have to startover.
But if the foundation is stillintact, then the rebuild doesn't
start from nothing.
Get this.
It starts from strength.
See, that's what Grace does.
Family.
Your identity in Christ is stillthere.
(14:51):
Your foundation hasn't movedeven if the walls came tumbling
down.
stop believing the lie thatyou've lost at all, that you've
lost all your progress.
Family.
You haven't lost your progress.
You've gained perspective.
(15:12):
Maybe you need to speak thisover your own life right now.
This is not the end of me.
I'm not who I used to be.
God's not done with me.
I can still recover.
I can still heal.
I still can become everythingthat God has called me to be.
But here's the thing, family.
(15:33):
Every time you start again,every time you hit your knees
and say, Lord, help me.
every time you walk back intothe light, you are growing.
Even in weakness, even in pain,even in shame, you are growing.
(15:54):
Family.
Your comeback is a weapon.
Let me say this with fire.
The devil should be scared todeath that you got back up.
Because people who have fallenand risen carry something
dangerous.
Family.
They carry empathy.
(16:15):
They carry authority.
They carry humility.
They carry a testimony.
Why?
Because you've seen the bottom.
You've lived through the dark,and now you speak from a place
of survival and surrender.
That's the voice people can'tignore.
That's the voice of someone whohas.
Been forged in the fire.
(16:37):
So don't let starting over.
Silence your voice, family.
Let it strengthen it.
Let it clarify it, let it igniteit.
You're not starting fromscratch.
You're starting from scars, fromwisdom, from surrender, and
that's where God does his bestwork because The gospel isn't
(17:02):
about the ones who never fell.
It's about the ones who keptgetting up by grace.
You see, Jesus didn't die foryour perfect track record.
He died because you couldn'tkeep one.
So stop disqualifying yourselffrom something God has already
covered.
(17:24):
Let me ask you something honest.
What if the place you've beentrying to hide is the very place
God is trying to heal?
We carry this idea deep downthat our relapses are proof that
we're not worthy.
We think the comeback has to bequick, clean, flawless, or guess
(17:49):
what?
It just doesn't count.
But here's the truth that mostpeople will never say out loud.
The comeback often looks messybefore ever looks miraculous.
It's not linear, it's notpretty.
And guess what?
Family, let me hit you with somecold, hard truth.
It's definitely not perfect, butyou know what?
(18:14):
It's still sacred.
What if just, what if God canstill work in the places?
You think are unusable?
What if he's not ashamed of yourstart overs?
What if your moments of relapseare not your disqualification,
(18:37):
but your invitation to deepergrace?
Come on, let's be honest.
We don't grow the most duringour victories.
We grow in the middle of ourvulnerability.
In the pain, in the shame, inthe silence that follows a fall.
(19:00):
That's where God whisperssomething new.
We've got to stop believing thatwe only deserve grace when we're
doing well.
Family.
That's not gospel, that'sperformance.
Jesus didn't die so you couldhave a spotless record.
He died because you couldn'tkeep one.
(19:22):
I couldn't keep one.
The Bible says that we've allfallen short of the glory of
God.
All of us have.
The Bible says that there's notone righteous.
No, not one.
The Bible says that while wewere still helpless, hopeless.
(19:44):
Christ died for us.
Your relapse.
My relapse didn't cancel.
Grace.
You know what it did?
Family.
It just exposed where we stillneed it.
And if you're still breathing,friend, you still have it?
(20:05):
Yeah.
It's okay to grieve.
It's okay to grieve who youwere.
There were parts of your oldself that fell easier.
We talked about this couplepodcast episodes ago.
There was a numbness that keptyou from breaking down.
There was a recklessness thatmade you feel alive until it
destroyed you.
(20:27):
But here's the hard truthwrapped in mercy.
You were never truly alive inthose moments.
Family.
You were surviving.
You were escaping, and you werelost.
The grace of God just didn'tcome to cover your mistakes.
It came to resurrect the realyou, the one he saw even when
(20:50):
you and I couldn't.
So what if you flip the scriptinstead of calling it failure,
call it formation, instead ofcalling it relapse, call it a
rebuilding.
Instead of calling it the end,how about we call it evidence
(21:12):
that God isn't finished?
Because here's what we know.
You're not weak for startingover.
You're strong because you didn'tstay down.
Family.
That takes more guts thanpretending like everything's
okay in your life.
That takes way more courage thanquitting.
(21:35):
Every time you said yes torecovery again, every time you
got up, even when it hurt, everytime you walked back into the
light, when shame said to hide,you were proving that grace
still works.
Family.
As we get ready to wrap thispodcast episode up today, this
(21:59):
isn't the end.
This isn't your last chance.
This isn't your final shot.
It's not the end of your story.
This is the next beginning.
Yeah.
You might be tired.
Yeah.
You might be ashamed.
(22:19):
You might be carrying the weightof failure, so it's hard to
breathe.
But this is something I knowfamily, God doesn't keep count
the way the world does.
He's not tallying your falls.
He's not disappointed that youhad to start over.
(22:39):
He's celebrating that.
You still in the fight stillhere.
Still choosing grace over guilt,still choosing hope over shame.
You're not behind.
You're becoming in every stepforward.
Even if it's from square one,family is a win for the kingdom
(23:04):
and a loss for hell.
So don't you dare give up.
Don't you let shame shut youdown.
Don't believe the lie that it'stoo late, that you've done too
much, or that you'll never getit right.
You are living proof that Goddoesn't give up on people and
neither should you.
(23:26):
You've got breath in your lungs,then you've got a purpose on
your life.
You've got battle scars.
Then you've got a testimony thatsomeone else needs to hear.
You've had to start over thenyou're not finished yet.
Family.
What a powerful podcast episode.
(23:47):
Today we're gonna make mistakes,family.
We're gonna fall, we're gonnamess up.
I mean we are really gonna messup in life.
But the Bible tells us in ourscripture focus today though the
righteous fall.
Seven times the get back up,family get up.
(24:11):
It's time to get up.
Yeah, it hurts.
Yeah.
It's humiliating.
I've been there, I've done it.
I know what it's like to have tolook your family in the face and
say, Hey.
I relapsed again, but you knowwhat the real winner is.
Yeah, I relapsed, but I'm gonnalearn from this one and I'm
(24:35):
gonna keep pushing forward, keepmoving forward, taking one step
at a time, and this I canpromise you family.
Eventually those steps will getlonger and longer.
Longer because that's the powerof grace.
(25:00):
He's not finished with you and Iyet.
We've got breath in our lungs,family, we're breathing.
Then there's a reason.
I love you.
I honor you.
Thank you so much for hangingout with me.
You know what I'm gonna tell youand tell next time.
Family stay rooted, stayrecovered, and let's get to
(25:21):
work.
You are not just surviving.
You are becoming, becomingrooted in truth, becoming
recovered by grace, and becomingthe person God always knew you
could be.
Thanks for joining us on Rootedin Recovered.
If this episode stirredsomething in you, don't keep it
(25:44):
to yourself.
Share it, live it, let it takeroot.
We'll see you next time righthere where scars become
testimonies and hope rises fromthe ashes.
This world doesn't hand outhealing.
(00:02):
It offers quick fixes, cheappies and empty promises, but
real recovery, it takes roots.
Roots that dig deep into truth,into identity, into the
unshakeable grace of God.
We're not here to sugarcoat thestruggle.
We've lived it.
(00:22):
Addiction, shame, relapse,regret, but we've also seen
resurrection.
We've seen what has.
Happens when broken people getanchored in something real
rooted and recovered is morethan a podcast.
It's a battleground for thesoul.
A place where scars tellstories, where scripture speaks
louder than shame, where freedomisn't just a word.
(00:46):
It's a war we win daily.
So if you're tired of surfacelevel answers, if you want truth
that convicts, hope that heals,and conversations that cut
through the noise, you're in theright place.
Welcome to Rooted and Recovered.
Dan (01:07):
Welcome to another episode of Rooted and Recovered.
I'm your host, Dan Pyles.
I just wanna say once again,family.
I'm so thankful that I have theprivilege and honor to walk this
journey with you that we callrecovery.
Thank you so much for allowingme, uh, into your home, your,
(01:28):
your vehicle, your ear, howeveryou're listening to this podcast
today.
Thank you so much.
From the bottom of my heart, Idon't, I, it's been a while
since I've done anything likethis, but I just want to take
just a few moments and do somehousekeeping.
Uh, if you find this podcasthelpful.
One of the biggest ways that youcan support is by simply sharing
(01:52):
this podcast with your familyand friends.
So if you, if you love thispodcast, if you've gotten
something from this podcast,please.
Take just a few moments andshare it with somebody that
could so desperately need thelife-changing story in their
life.
(02:13):
And it's nothing I'm doing orsaying it's, it has nothing to
do with me, but it's the spiritof God.
in these episodes.
Guys, we got another powerfulepisode today.
Uh, today's episode is calledWhen You're Tired of Starting
Over.
(02:35):
Let me guess, family, I, I'mspeaking to someone who is just
tired.
You're exhausted.
Not just physically tired, butsoul tired.
You're tired of the cycle, tiredof the promise you made to
(02:58):
yourself that you didn't keep.
Tired of the hope that rose upin you just to fall flat again.
You've lost count of how manyday ones you've had.
You've thrown away thecigarettes, you've thrown away
(03:20):
the alcohol.
You've thrown away the dope.
You deleted that number.
You uninstalled that app.
You made that vow.
You wrote that journal entry.
You've done all the right thingsonly to find yourself crawling
back to square one more timesthan you care to admit.
(03:47):
And now here you go again.
Another morning, another prayer.
Another attempt to believe thatmaybe just maybe this time will
be different, but deep down,you're not even sure if you
(04:09):
believe that anymore.
Come on family.
I know I'm talking to somebodybecause starting over hurts.
Let's be honest, it, it hurts tohope again.
It hurts to try again.
It hurts to admit yet again thatyou need help.
(04:37):
And the worst part, the shame,that voice in your head that
says You should be past this bynow, you're a joke.
God's definitely done with youthis time.
People are tired of hearing yousay that this time is different.
(05:02):
You've got battle wounds, familythat no one can see on your
heart, on your identity, on yourconfidence.
Every failed attempt feels likeanother reason to give up
completely.
But let me tell you somethingthat will silence that voice of
(05:24):
shame once and for all.
You ready?
You're not weak because you'restarting over.
You're strong because you refuseto stay down.
Yeah, you might be limping, youmight be dragging your past
behind you.
(05:44):
You might be starting at squareone for the 10th or the
hundredth time, but guess what?
Family you showed up, you arehere and that matters.
Come on.
We gotta get this clear.
God doesn't get annoyed withyour comebacks.
He doesn't grow weary of yourattempts to change.
(06:06):
He isn't rolling his eyes whenyou come back to him again.
Heartbroken and embarrassed andempty.
You know what he does?
He welcomes you every singletime.
Why?
Because Grace was built just.
For this grace was made forstarting over and you've still
(06:28):
got breath in your lungs family,then Grace is still flowing
toward your life.
You see, failure isn't the endof your story.
It's the doorway to yourtransformation.
Every time you start over, youare choosing faith over fear.
(06:50):
You are choosing grace overguilt.
You are choosing purpose overperfection.
You see, the enemy wants you tobelieve that your repeated
failures means that you'reunworthy.
but God says your return isproof of your redemption.
(07:13):
there's power Family in yourrestart.
There's purpose in your process,and there's grace in every
gritty, painful, courageous stepforward.
so to the ones who tired ofstarting over, you're not
starting from scratch.
(07:34):
You're starting from experience,from wisdom, from resilience.
From grit you didn't have thelast time, and you're bringing
more to the table this time, notless family.
So let shame sit down and bequiet.
(07:55):
Tell guilt to lose its grip inyour life and let grace today
remind you of who you are A son.
A daughter, a fighter, asurvivor, a walking testimony
that Grace still works.
(08:17):
Family.
This episode is for you, the onewho has started over more times
than they can count, and stillhas the audacity to believe that
this time something can change.
Yeah, you're tired.
Not just tired in your body.
Not just tired in your mind.
(08:39):
Family.
You're tired in your soul.
Tired of failing.
Tired of slipping backwards.
Tired of the cycle.
Sin.
Shame, silence, repeat.
I know family.
'cause I've been there.
I've done that.
I know what this feels like.
(09:00):
You're tired of believing inbreakthrough only to find
yourself broken again.
You lost count of how many timesyou've whispered, I'm done.
Not because you want to give up,but because you're afraid
nothing will change.
But I come to tell you today,God is not afraid of your
(09:22):
repeats, and grace is notthreatened by your relapses.
There's a shame that comes whenstarting over.
It's not just guilt.
Family.
It's humiliation.
It's walking back into church,feeling like everyone knows it's
(09:43):
showing up to your group withyour head down.
It's looking in the mirror andthinking, man, I really thought
that I was past this.
I really thought that I shouldbe further in my recovery than I
am right now.
(10:05):
You know what makes it worse?
Because you and I have hadvictories before.
We've been clean for months,may, maybe years.
We've testified on platforms.
We've prayed with power.
We've led people, and now herewe are.
Starting over again and theenemy, that stinking bum will
(10:33):
whisper in our ears.
You're a fake.
You have run your witness.
God's done with you.
But listen to me in the name ofJesus family, none of those
voices are truth becausescripture.
(10:53):
Doesn't say the righteous neverfall.
You know what?
Proverbs 24 16 tells us though,the righteous fall seven times.
Guess what?
They rise again.
Let that hit your soul.
Falling doesn't erase yourrighteousness.
(11:16):
Getting up family is whatconfirms it.
What if God.
Measures by getting back up.
What if, think about this forjust a moment.
What if God doesn't keep scorethe way we think he does?
(11:36):
What if he doesn't say, oh, wellthat's failure number six.
Or, well, you know what?
Strike three buddy, you're out.
Or, ah, man, you were doing sowell, but.
Now I'm disappointed.
Nah.
(11:57):
What if every time you riseagain, heaven throws a
celebration?
What if grace is louder thanguilt?
What if your comeback shoutslouder than your collapse?
See, the enemy wants yourrelapse to be your identity, but
(12:19):
God wants it to be your turningpoint.
He doesn't define you by yourfall family.
He defines you by hisfaithfulness.
Remember a couple episodes wetalked about Lamentations.
three verses 22 and 23.
It says, because of the Lord'sgreat love, we are not consumed.
(12:42):
For his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning.
Do you know what that means?
That if you woke up today, gracewoke up with you family.
You're not starting fromscratch.
You're starting from experience.
(13:04):
Let's break that lie once andfor all.
You are not starting from zero.
You're not back at thebeginning.
Yeah, you're starting again.
But this time with more wisdom,more awareness, more truth, more
grit.
(13:25):
You know the path better thistime, you'll see the trap sooner
and you'll recognize the triggerquicker.
And maybe the fall didn't takeyou out.
Think about this.
Maybe it taught you how to fightbetter.
Maybe it exposed a place thatstill needed healing in your
(13:46):
life.
Maybe it stripped away somepride that you and I didn't know
we had.
Maybe it broke something off ofyou so that something better
could be built.
Family.
That's not failure, that'sformation.
You see, picture a house with mefor just a moment and I'm not a
(14:08):
contractor at all.
God didn't give me the abilityto be able to build things.
But picture a house underconstruction, the framing goes
up, the roof gets built, butthen a storm comes through and
knocks it down.
(14:29):
Feels like you have to startover.
But if the foundation is stillintact, then the rebuild doesn't
start from nothing.
Get this.
It starts from strength.
See, that's what Grace does.
Family.
Your identity in Christ is stillthere.
(14:51):
Your foundation hasn't movedeven if the walls came tumbling
down.
stop believing the lie thatyou've lost at all, that you've
lost all your progress.
Family.
You haven't lost your progress.
You've gained perspective.
(15:12):
Maybe you need to speak thisover your own life right now.
This is not the end of me.
I'm not who I used to be.
God's not done with me.
I can still recover.
I can still heal.
I still can become everythingthat God has called me to be.
But here's the thing, family.
(15:33):
Every time you start again,every time you hit your knees
and say, Lord, help me.
every time you walk back intothe light, you are growing.
Even in weakness, even in pain,even in shame, you are growing.
(15:54):
Family.
Your comeback is a weapon.
Let me say this with fire.
The devil should be scared todeath that you got back up.
Because people who have fallenand risen carry something
dangerous.
Family.
They carry empathy.
(16:15):
They carry authority.
They carry humility.
They carry a testimony.
Why?
Because you've seen the bottom.
You've lived through the dark,and now you speak from a place
of survival and surrender.
That's the voice people can'tignore.
That's the voice of someone whohas.
Been forged in the fire.
(16:37):
So don't let starting over.
Silence your voice, family.
Let it strengthen it.
Let it clarify it, let it igniteit.
You're not starting fromscratch.
You're starting from scars, fromwisdom, from surrender, and
that's where God does his bestwork because The gospel isn't
(17:02):
about the ones who never fell.
It's about the ones who keptgetting up by grace.
You see, Jesus didn't die foryour perfect track record.
He died because you couldn'tkeep one.
So stop disqualifying yourselffrom something God has already
covered.
(17:24):
Let me ask you something honest.
What if the place you've beentrying to hide is the very place
God is trying to heal?
We carry this idea deep downthat our relapses are proof that
we're not worthy.
We think the comeback has to bequick, clean, flawless, or guess
(17:49):
what?
It just doesn't count.
But here's the truth that mostpeople will never say out loud.
The comeback often looks messybefore ever looks miraculous.
It's not linear, it's notpretty.
And guess what?
Family, let me hit you with somecold, hard truth.
It's definitely not perfect, butyou know what?
(18:14):
It's still sacred.
What if just, what if God canstill work in the places?
You think are unusable?
What if he's not ashamed of yourstart overs?
What if your moments of relapseare not your disqualification,
(18:37):
but your invitation to deepergrace?
Come on, let's be honest.
We don't grow the most duringour victories.
We grow in the middle of ourvulnerability.
In the pain, in the shame, inthe silence that follows a fall.
(19:00):
That's where God whisperssomething new.
We've got to stop believing thatwe only deserve grace when we're
doing well.
Family.
That's not gospel, that'sperformance.
Jesus didn't die so you couldhave a spotless record.
He died because you couldn'tkeep one.
(19:22):
I couldn't keep one.
The Bible says that we've allfallen short of the glory of
God.
All of us have.
The Bible says that there's notone righteous.
No, not one.
The Bible says that while wewere still helpless, hopeless.
(19:44):
Christ died for us.
Your relapse.
My relapse didn't cancel.
Grace.
You know what it did?
Family.
It just exposed where we stillneed it.
And if you're still breathing,friend, you still have it?
(20:05):
Yeah.
It's okay to grieve.
It's okay to grieve who youwere.
There were parts of your oldself that fell easier.
We talked about this couplepodcast episodes ago.
There was a numbness that keptyou from breaking down.
There was a recklessness thatmade you feel alive until it
destroyed you.
(20:27):
But here's the hard truthwrapped in mercy.
You were never truly alive inthose moments.
Family.
You were surviving.
You were escaping, and you werelost.
The grace of God just didn'tcome to cover your mistakes.
It came to resurrect the realyou, the one he saw even when
(20:50):
you and I couldn't.
So what if you flip the scriptinstead of calling it failure,
call it formation, instead ofcalling it relapse, call it a
rebuilding.
Instead of calling it the end,how about we call it evidence
(21:12):
that God isn't finished?
Because here's what we know.
You're not weak for startingover.
You're strong because you didn'tstay down.
Family.
That takes more guts thanpretending like everything's
okay in your life.
That takes way more courage thanquitting.
(21:35):
Every time you said yes torecovery again, every time you
got up, even when it hurt, everytime you walked back into the
light, when shame said to hide,you were proving that grace
still works.
Family.
As we get ready to wrap thispodcast episode up today, this
(21:59):
isn't the end.
This isn't your last chance.
This isn't your final shot.
It's not the end of your story.
This is the next beginning.
Yeah.
You might be tired.
Yeah.
You might be ashamed.
(22:19):
You might be carrying the weightof failure, so it's hard to
breathe.
But this is something I knowfamily, God doesn't keep count
the way the world does.
He's not tallying your falls.
He's not disappointed that youhad to start over.
(22:39):
He's celebrating that.
You still in the fight stillhere.
Still choosing grace over guilt,still choosing hope over shame.
You're not behind.
You're becoming in every stepforward.
Even if it's from square one,family is a win for the kingdom
(23:04):
and a loss for hell.
So don't you dare give up.
Don't you let shame shut youdown.
Don't believe the lie that it'stoo late, that you've done too
much, or that you'll never getit right.
You are living proof that Goddoesn't give up on people and
neither should you.
(23:26):
You've got breath in your lungs,then you've got a purpose on
your life.
You've got battle scars.
Then you've got a testimony thatsomeone else needs to hear.
You've had to start over thenyou're not finished yet.
Family.
What a powerful podcast episode.
(23:47):
Today we're gonna make mistakes,family.
We're gonna fall, we're gonnamess up.
I mean we are really gonna messup in life.
But the Bible tells us in ourscripture focus today though the
righteous fall.
Seven times the get back up,family get up.
(24:11):
It's time to get up.
Yeah, it hurts.
Yeah.
It's humiliating.
I've been there, I've done it.
I know what it's like to have tolook your family in the face and
say, Hey.
I relapsed again, but you knowwhat the real winner is.
Yeah, I relapsed, but I'm gonnalearn from this one and I'm
(24:35):
gonna keep pushing forward, keepmoving forward, taking one step
at a time, and this I canpromise you family.
Eventually those steps will getlonger and longer.
Longer because that's the powerof grace.
(25:00):
He's not finished with you and Iyet.
We've got breath in our lungs,family, we're breathing.
Then there's a reason.
I love you.
I honor you.
Thank you so much for hangingout with me.
You know what I'm gonna tell youand tell next time.
Family stay rooted, stayrecovered, and let's get to
(25:21):
work.
You are not just surviving.
You are becoming, becomingrooted in truth, becoming
recovered by grace, and becomingthe person God always knew you
could be.
Thanks for joining us on Rootedin Recovered.
If this episode stirredsomething in you, don't keep it
(25:44):
to yourself.
Share it, live it, let it takeroot.
We'll see you next time righthere where scars become
testimonies and hope rises fromthe ashes.
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