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Father Lazarus on falling, repentance, and not abandoning God
What the video says
The speaker teaches that falling is inevitable for everyone except God, but getting up and facing forward is what matters. By the end of life, judgment becomes a greater blessing because one has fallen forward rather than given up. Jesus taught that all evil comes from within, not from external circumstances.
External temptations may cause falls but cannot destroy a person; only refusing God can do that. The speaker advises fighting inner battles and trusting that each time one falls, gets up, and turns again to the Lord, forgiveness is given.
Key moments
- Blaming yourself for falling is appropriate because you will fall and always fall; the battle never makes you the victor unless you are God.
- Most people simply fall down, but getting up and facing forward means you are doing all you can.
- By the end of life, judgment becomes a greater blessing because you have fallen forward.
- Jesus said all evil comes from within, not from the earth; external fights do not make you evil.
- Temptations around you might make you fall but they will not destroy you.
- You can only destroy yourself by accepting or refusing God; if you do not refuse God, you will not be destroyed.
- You might fall and will fall, but you will not be destroyed.
- The advice is to fight inner battles and believe that even when you fall, getting up and facing the Lord again brings forgiveness.
The post shares a message from Father Lazarus El Anthony, an Australian-born Coptic Orthodox monk who left his former life to live in the Egyptian desert following the ancient monastic tradition of prayer, solitude, and repentance. He teaches that falling into sin is inevitable for everyone except God, but falling and giving up on God are two different things.
The devil does not only want people to fall; he wants them to believe that after falling there is no point in getting back up, that they have disappointed God too many times, or that they are beyond forgiveness. God knows human weaknesses better than people know them themselves. He sees struggles, failures, and shame, yet continues to call to repentance.
Father Lazarus reminds readers of what the Desert Fathers understood: holiness is not about pretending we never fall. It is about humbling ourselves, repenting sincerely, and continually returning to Christ. The post urges never to become comfortable with sin but never to let sins convince one to abandon God.
If you fall today, get back up, confess your sins, ask for His mercy, and continue. As long as you are alive, do not give up on repentance. Christ has not stopped calling you home. The accompanying video summary adds that the speaker teaches getting up and facing forward is what matters.
By the end of life, judgment becomes a greater blessing because one has fallen forward rather than given up. Jesus taught that all evil comes from within, not from external circumstances. External temptations may cause falls but cannot destroy a person; only refusing God can do that.
The advice is to fight inner battles and trust that each time one falls, gets up, and turns again to the Lord, forgiveness is given.
Main points
- Falling into sin is inevitable; the danger is believing the lie that one should stop trying
- God knows our weaknesses and continues calling us to repentance
- Holiness means humbling ourselves and returning to Christ, not pretending we never fall
- Evil comes from within; external temptations cannot destroy us unless we refuse God
- Each time we fall, get up, and turn to the Lord, forgiveness is given