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God is strong and can help you not to fall. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and can give you great joy. Jude 1:24 (NCV)
I sat and watched a group of rock climbers one day as they tried to scale a sheer rock cliff. From a distance it seemed impossible for them to be able to make it to the top safely. It was apparent from my observation which climbers were novices and which were the ‘veterans’ of the group. The novices moved very slowly and tentatively. Some got half way up and came back down by the safety ropes to regroup and try again. One by one the group made it from the bottom to the top safely. With each person’s successful climb you could hear a cheer erupt from the onlookers.
Later, I had the opportunity to ask one of the climbers what he thought were the essential ingredients to a successful climb. He told me that, in his opinion, there were three things each successful climber needed to make it to the top. One was faith in your equipment. The climb I watched was pretty minor but especially on the big climbs you needed to have good equipment and trust that equipment to do what it says it would do.
The second ingredient was remaining focused. He referenced the few ‘novice climbers’. Their biggest problem was that they focused so much on the danger and the possibility of falling and getting injured that they lost their grip. On this climb it was okay because there were safety ropes to lower them to the ground. In a real climb one slip can mean death. “Most climbing accidents are the result of improper use of equipment and/or climber error” He told me. Equipment failure is rare.
Lastly, he said, good climbers don’t climb alone. They would prefer to climb in groups because the support of the group helps them, especially during the tough climbs and during inclement weather. Group support is indispensible when it comes to making it to the top.
As I left I thought about the application to our spiritual lives. When we first start our walk with Christ we are careful to do the things that will help our growth. We read his Word, we pray, we seek every opportunity to make our way up the slippery slope of life.
As we ‘grow older’ in our faith we may tend to lose our focus on the task before us. We may have more faith in our own ability than to trust the equipment. We may be so intent on looking back to our past that we lose sight of the task before us. We may look towards our goal and wonder how we will ever make it to the top. When we lose our focus we increase the chances of losing our footing and falling.
Along with the focus we need to have in our climb, we need to have faith in our equipment. Climbing equipment rarely fails. The word of God and his presence in our lives NEVER fails. But falling is a possibility when we fail to have faith that our God is strong enough to see us to the top.
Lastly, when climbing the sheer rock wall of life, we need each other. Fellowship with other Christ-followers encourages us on the way, reminds us who we are, and gives us another vantage point to see our way to footholds that help us advance.
Proper equipment (Faith in a living and powerful God); Focus (relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us through the daily tasks of life); Fellowship (surrounding ourselves with people who can help us along the way). Three ingredients to making it up the slippery slope of life.
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many times I’ve lost focus on you or relied on my own power and ability to make it through life’s challenges. Empower me with your Spirit to climb the slippery slope of my life relying on you to conquer to obstacles before me. In Jesus name, Amen.
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9
You probably don’t remember this, but if you know how to walk today it’s because you learned the ability to ‘walk-a-by-self’. A friend of mine tells the story of her very independent toddler daughter. Just after she learned to walk she was very determined to show her independence. Mom tried to pick her up but she refused. She wanted to ‘walk-a-by-self’. Mom put her down and tried to hold her hand, but she pulled away and announced to the world: “WALK-A-BY-SELF!”, and so…she did, with mom close beside her to guard her steps.
We chuckle from time to time about the pseudo-independence our toddlers show with those first steps. Oh, at first they are pretty shaky and unsteady but then, the reach that point where the fear is gone and we realize there is a whole new world to explore and we attack it with gusto!
We tend to be the same way in our spiritual lives. We are confident in our own abilities to do life. We show our freedom from the rules by making choices that put us in danger. We choose relationships based on looks or status rather than seeking Gods direction. We spend freely, eat poorly, and ‘love’ openly. Sometimes that gets us in trouble. We charge on without any awareness whatsoever of our parents presence and get lost. We run to fast and stumble and fall. We meet the coffee table head-on (yes it was a pun, but so very true), all the while thinking God is nowhere to be seen.
Our Heavenly Father knows that we need to have the freedom to walk on our own. He knows it builds strength and confidence. He knows it allows us the opportunity to develop the gifts, talents and abilities He planned for us to have.
Our Father also knows that we will fall. As in the physical life, we will end up with bruised knees and an occasional bloody nose. Sometimes we’ll require stitches and need to be picked up and comforted. Sometimes we’ll look Him square in the eye and announce: “walk-a-by-self!” We’ll wander and get ourselves in a whole variety of predicaments, but we will never be outside his protective grasp.
The analogy of a rebellious two-year old falls short in one area though. Our Heavenly Father knows we’ll stumble and fall, but we will never be out of reach of His strong and powerful arms. We are never out of sight of His wise, discerning eyes. We never really ‘walk-a-by-self’ when we walk with Jesus. He’s always there. Always faithful, always willing to let us have the freedom to choose, and always willing to pick us up when we stray from Him and need His healing arms around us.
It doesn’t matter where you have strayed or what choices you’ve made, or where you find yourself in life today. Jesus Christ longs to hold you in His arms of forgiveness and grace so that you may be comforted and strengthened to walk again.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. The Bible tells me I can call you ‘Daddy’. Thank you that like a caring, compassionate and wise father you allow me the freedom to walk-a-by-self. Thank you that through Jesus Christ I can be forgiven when my walking gets me in trouble. Thank you for the healing salve of your grace. I ask today that you would help me up, for I’ve stumbled once again, and empower me by your Spirit to walk with you. In Your Holy name I pray, Amen.
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Psalm 37:3
Trust is a learned response. Long before we understand the concept of trust we learn the basis of trust. We can trust the floor to stand on because every floor we happen upon has upheld us. Standing on our favorite ball however results in our falling and perhaps hurting ourselves. Balloons are never to be trusted. They may be bright and colorful. They may be great fun to play with and bat around the room. But we learn early on they are never to be trusted because at any moment they may explode!
We also learn to that over time, we can trust things more. During our first steps we find that our legs are untrustworthy. They seem to let us down (not softly either), they are wobbly, and at times they take us in a direction we had no intention of going. However, if we let our first ‘leg experience’ be the basis of our concept of ‘trust’ then none of us would ever walk. As our legs become more trustworthy we learn not only to walk, but to run, jump and move with confidence.
Trust also requires us to be patient and cautious. Patient because those we love and want to help will (not may) fail us. Trust requires caution because there are those who will intentionally, or otherwise, mislead us and bring us into situations that are harmful for ourselves and/or others.
Trust in relationships is much like learning to trust in the walking experience. It takes time. It takes effort. In relationships we learn, sometimes the hard way that not everyone can be trusted. We experience the heartache and pain of betrayal, hatred, abuse and misunderstanding. Many a relationship has been destroyed because one person misunderstood the motives of another and refused to give another chance. Others have been physically and/or emotionally scarred for life because they never learned that love doesn’t always mean trust.
The Psalmist begins Psalm 37 with a warning. Don’t let evil doers worry you. Soon they will wither away. Eventually the evil motives of evil people will come to a natural end because evil can not stand against faith, hope and love.
True trust, the foundational trust can only be found in relationship with God. Men fail. Women fail. Children and parents fail. We fail by nature because our nature leans towards selfishness and evil.
God never fails. Sometimes we may feel like He does. We pray and He ‘fails’ to answer or give us an answer we don’t like. We go into a relationship we ‘think’ He approves and it blows up like the balloon we played with when we were young. We do good things and they get misread so we get falsely accused. In a moment of weakness we make a stupid decision and our lives are forever changed.
The problem with trust comes when we attach human attributes to a divine being. In our human mindset we see bad things and think that if God were real He could change them. In reality, God can change all the bad things in life. Sometimes God chooses to use the bad things in life to make us stronger. The stumbles during our first steps helped us learn balance. The falls helped us learn to stand. Only God can take a bad thing, a very bad thing and use it to make us stronger.
Trust the only one who can see you through your struggles. People will fail you. YOU will fail you. You will fail others. Sometimes your best efforts will fall short. But God will never ever ever fail you.
Learn to trust Him like you learned to walk. If you knew as an infant that each fall would make you better you wouldn’t enjoy the falls, but they’d be easier to take. In the same way, trusting God is a one-step-at-a-time process.
Trust, true, foundational trust must be built on someone who has proved themselves over time. Our God has never failed and He won’t fail you now.
PRAYER: Holy God. I confess to you that there are many times I’ve gone off on my own. Although I wouldn’t admit it then, in reality those times were times I trusted myself or others and not you. Forgive me for straying, rebelling and wandering. Help me back to my feet. Guide each of my stumbling, wobbly steps until I can walk with confidence in you through faith in Jesus. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 