Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Written by Johanna Zabala, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Ecuador

Developing meaningful relationships that are guided by the Heavenly Father has resulted in the growth of my knowledge of Him and in my desire to continue to serve the Lord Jesus Christ at every moment of my life in this earthly space.

As I grew from childhood to adolescence, I gained knowledge and developed increasingly significant beliefs, even as a result of making mistakes. I remember that making mistakes in the innocence of childhood was involuntary. Later as I matured, my mistakes were often voluntary when I deliberately made sinful choices. But I didn’t know how to accept them as steps in learning.

As a child, I had few interpersonal relationships. Establishing connections made me very insecure. Because of this shyness, some events triggered uncertainty, loneliness, and frustrations that at that moment I did not understand, and that became obstacles to my relationships.

When I was of school age, I remember that I always went unnoticed and when I made a mistake, I became very frustrated which prevented me from learning from these experiences. As time went by and as I got to know Jesus, I came to understand that each mistake was part of my growth and helped me to understand Romans 8:28 (NIV), “In all things God works for the good.”

Beloved sisters, if we realize that we can learn from our mistakes, we can encourage each other. We’ll know that when we make a mistake in a relationship, it provides an opportunity to grow and mature in faith and achieve the stature of Christ to which the apostle Paul exhorts us in Ephesians 4:13, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” 

I still need to keep learning, and I'm sure you do, too. As human beings, we know that mistakes are normal and frequent in both our secular and Christian walks each time we think or do things we should not. But these struggles can become part of our spiritual growth when we accept that we are imperfect beings in the hands of a perfect God who perfects us every day in Christ Jesus.

Let’s not forget that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). This promise teaches us that as human beings when we make a mistake, we will be forgiven and purified if we immediately repent—that is, change our attitude towards God—confess, and ask for forgiveness. It is necessary to humble ourselves, recognize the sinful nature that fights in our weakness from within, and beg to be transformed by the Lord's discipline.

Finally, whenever trials, weaknesses, and mistakes come, let us live Romans 8:28, knowing that the Almighty God intervenes with His infinite wisdom in everything, giving us the strength and experiences to help us when we do not dwell on the bad. Beloved, I hope you share this same spirit and that we will all continue towards this goal.

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Written by Kat Bittner, volunteer with and member of Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colorado

“All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.”
― Sophocles, Antigone

Yes. All men – and women – make mistakes. Putting salt in your coffee instead of sugar is a mistake. Going the wrong direction on a one-way street is a mistake. Misspelling a word on a spelling test is a mistake. Bumping into someone with your shopping cart is a mistake. Mistakes are errors in judgment, and no one is immune to them.

The same is true with sin, and even more so because sin is more than a mistake. It is a deliberate and willful choice to do something you know is wrong. “Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God” (1 John 3:4 NLT).

Like mistakes, everyone sins (Rom. 3:23). How we properly handle sin is the difference between yielding when we are wrong and pridefully acting contrary to what God wills for our life. The proper response to sin always comes from a humble and contrite heart. And what we learn from our mistakes, even more so from our sins, should cause us to grow in our spiritual journey and draw us closer to God.

One of the most notable biblical examples of learning from our mistakes comes from the story of Jonah. Jonah’s calling by God began with great reluctance. Not only did Jonah not want to do what God expressly told him to do, but he also tried to run away from it. His pride and self-righteous heart deemed the Ninevites less worthy of God’s mercy (Jonah 1:1-3; 4:1-2). Jonah believed that he should not go where God told him to go and do what God told him to do. That was a mistake. Jonah decided that he would instead go somewhere else and do something other than what God commanded. That was sin. Thus, the difference between Jonah’s mistake and Jonah’s sin was the difference between his error in judgment and his willful disobedience. Jonah’s disobedience also caused serious repercussions for others and put innocent men’s lives at risk (Jonah 1:4-15), thereby exacerbating the magnitude of his sin.

Also, Jonah believed he could “flee…from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:3 NKJV) which was a mistake. He judged incorrectly that if he could hide from God or go somewhere other than where God wanted, he could avoid God’s will for him. “’Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord” (Jer. 23:24 NIV). But the pride and disregard in Jonah’s heart was more than a mistake. It was sin! Jonah willfully and arrogantly chose to do something that he knew was wrong. And Jonah was angry about what God wanted him to do because he knew that God was known for being compassionate and merciful as well as vengeful (Ps. 145:8; 94:1).

Despite Jonah’s initial mistake and subsequent sin, he responded humbly with the time God spared his life in the belly of the great fish. Jonah repented and ultimately turned toward what God willed for his life. He learned from his mistake and responded appropriately to his sin.

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”(Jonah 2:1,4,9 NIV)

Jonah’s belief that the Ninevites were beyond redemption was also an error in judgment; it was another mistake. God spared the Ninevites once they repented, and Jonah became angry. He knew that God was “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2b). Jonah’s anger burned even to the point he wished he were dead. That was no mistake. That was sin. Many times, we do the same thing. We mistakenly believe one thing that leads us to err in our judgment. Then we make the wrong choices based on that error, and we become trapped in sin.

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.(1 Cor. 6:12, NKJV)

Sisters, we can learn from the story of Jonah. If we are to be women who fear God and want to do His will in our life, we must be humble. Be humble so that we do not err in our judgment. Be humble so that we properly respond to our sin. And be humble to be better learners. As Sophocles stated, we need to be good women who do not yield to a course that is wrong and repair the evil we do. Will you be a woman who learns from her mistake? Better yet, will you be a woman who learns, too, from more than a mistake? Be someone who learns from her sin.

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