Reflection: You Can Stumble But You Won’t Fall – Part One
Psalm 37:23-24; Matthew 26:31-35, Matt.26:69-75
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand” (Psalm 37:23-24 NKJV).
My reflection is a combination of both Psalm 37 and Matthew 26 readings.
As we are in the season of leaving the old year and welcoming the new one, I thought that a message of encouragement to end one year and start another would be apt. My thoughts were drawn to David’s Psalm 37. These words were often a source of encouragement to me when times were tough, and I wanted to share this as something to carry us into next year.
The word that stood out for me is “Though” at the beginning of verse 24: Other translations say, “When he falls.” Notice that it is not “if he falls”. There is a huge difference between the two; the one is a probability, while the other is a certainty. David knew that we all fall eventually. At some point or the other, we get lost in our walk with God, trip and fall on our faces or behinds, as we stumble through our everyday lives. Sooner or later all of us fall. But what we do when we fall is what makes the difference.
Proverbs 16:9 tells us that “in his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” This is like our text. We know that our steps are determined by God.
Our steps are not only directed by God but also “Determined” by Him. Whatever we do, our walking, talking, hearing, our lying down to sleep, and our waking up, all are in God’s control.
We all wonder what 2024 will bring us: will we personally have a good or a bad year?
I have looked at this question from all sides and have concluded that 2024 will in some ways be the same as 2023. Business as usual, some days will be good and some will be bad. We will win some and we will lose some. We will be well most of the time and some of the time we will be ill.
Some prayers will be answered but some won’t. Dreams will come true, others not, as will some of the plans we make. Some friends will be there for us, others will not when we need them most.
As we all face the same challenges walking with God, life will be much the same in 2024. But God’s promise is that when we fall it will not be the end, we will not be “utterly destroyed”.
Let’s look at it this way. We are walking through a dense wood with trees all around, but we don’t see the tree root half buried under some leaves, so we trip and fall. When paths are crooked and narrow it is so easy to trip and fall. That is life, we stumble in so many ways.
Translation of the word “utterly destroyed” means being thrown headfirst into a deep hole.
Now, think about this. We stand at the edge of a precipice looking down at a fall of 500 meters, suddenly someone pushes us and we fall.
Have you heard of the cartoon character “Wile E Coyote”? When he falls, he just gets up and chases after “Roadrunner” again.
After that great fall, when we hit the ground, do we think we will just get up, dust ourselves off and carry on? No. We will be “utterly destroyed.” But God’s promise is that it will not happen.
Even through desperate life changing circumstances in 2024, our God will not let us be “utterly destroyed.” You see, there is nothing that can sever our relationship with our God.
Do you understand that God upholds us in His mighty hands? Consider what happens when a father and son are walking side by side. The son reaches up with his small hand and holds onto the father’s big hand. Well, that’s fine until the son trips and let’s go of the father’s hand. However, if the father takes hold of the son’s small hand, the son is safe in his walk – being held up by the father’s mighty hand.
Our “falls” might be when we get into trouble in some way. We lose our job, our health fails, marriage problems, or moral sin. Sometimes, foolish decisions that took us in the wrong directions, hurt our walk with God, and hurt our loved ones. Once we “Fall” into bitterness, we get angry, start using bad words and perform all sorts of sinful actions.
Look at the Bible. There are examples of how easy it can happen, even to the best of people. Men and woman faithful one day and next they fall. Peter boasted and next we see him falling into his own sin. Strong people do some strange things, saintly people act like sinners.
David wrote Psalm 23 and then he went on to commit adultery with Bathsheba. Peter declared to Jesus “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Little did he know that when he declared that, even if all the others fell away, he never would. Yet this bold apostle fell when the girl confronted him, and he started swearing like the fisherman he was, and on top of that, denied three times, that he knew Jesus!
These scriptures from the Bible are there for our instruction as well as to encourage us, teaching us valuable lessons. Even the best of people can do foolish things at times. None of us is beyond temptation; godly people make the wrong choices and cause themselves great suffering, not to mention the suffering that this brings to others…
(Continued in Part Two)
Eric Smith