Falling as a concept is such an intrinsic part of climbing that good climbing courses actually include it in their curriculum. Climbers have to experience what it feels like to fall from a line during top rope or lead climbing, or all the way to floor when bouldering. Boulderers have it a little bit worse in that when they fall, they actually hit the (hopefully) soft mat covered ground. There’s the rush of that sudden drop, the momentary weightlessness as gravity does it’s job and you are pulled downwards in a hurry. When this happens suddenly, the climber can signal to the belayer that they are “Falling!” so that the belayer has the split second to react and brace themselves as they break the fall.
To assume that everything that you attempt will be perfectly successful is arrogant at best, and foolish at worst. We can always declare in the name of Jesus, but with the heart knowledge that His mind, His will, is ultimately unknowable. His timing will still prevail.
Therefore, failure is to be expected some of the time. God plans for us to prosper. But He never said that all of our plans will.
However, even in this, God is not leaving us alone to our own devices, to our own doom. It will not be such that the rug will be pulled out from us without a clue, and without any hope to recover.
Falling is inevitable. But so is rising from the ashes. So is restoration.
While certainly anxiety inducing, in all cases, there are actually ways to make falling less scary, or less impactful to the body. When bouldering, you have to ensure that you bend your knees and roll on to your back, trying not to brace yourself with your hands or arms on the floor. In lead climbing, don’t flail about or try to grab on any holds; trust that your certified belayer will be able to take in the rope as needed.
And so with that foreknowledge, a staunch heart, and Holy Spirit covering, falling becomes… manageable. There is a way to fail without being completely destroyed. We can lose the battle, but win the war. After a long dark night comes the welcome morning light. There is always hope.