by Barbara Latta
Jesus is the rock of a Christian’s foundation. But sometimes
I stray from the rock and go off
on my own and things get shaky. I wobble,
become anxious and fall.
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| When I stray from the solid foundation I wobble, become anxious and fall. |
But when a Christian falls what happens? A vacation experience to WonderWorks showed me the answer.
Lessons in a fun house
This indoor amusement park is full of scientific anomalies,
optical illusions, simulators, video games and interactive experiments. The
outside of the building looks like an upside-down house. One of the most
popular attractions is the elevated obstacle course where the participant is
attached to a shoulder harness and then climbs stairs to start the airborne
walk.
I looked up at kids and adults traversing the trail and thought, “Okay, I can do this.” I mean it's only about 20
feet in the air. I took the first step to ascend to the high-rise game and all
was well. Looking down from the top gave a different perspective. Those 20 or
so feet looked more like 200 when looking down.
Trails are narrow iron beams, single ropes and wobbly wooden
planks attached together. Balance is definitely challenged in a darkened room
where your only guide on the walkway is fluorescent paint highlighted by black
lights.
The iron beams weren’t so difficult but then I encountered
the rope. Each step became shakier than the last until my body was swaying from
side to side.
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| Jesus is the Rock of our salvation. |
Thankfully, the safety net is the harness. Falling off the
rope doesn’t mean disaster because you can feel the comfort of the tight vest
pulling you back to the path. I managed to traverse the course but was thankful
to have my feet back on the solid floor.
I thought about my sometimes-shaky spiritual life.
The strong arms of God keep me from crashing. My eyes are
ever toward the Lord for He shall pluck my feet out of the net (Psalm 25:15).
Despite my failures my Father doesn’t let go; he simply
picks me up and puts me back on the path. He guides me gently down from the
obstacle course of life until I am back on the solid foundation of His Righteous
Son.
- When I have lost my temper and yelled at someone, my Father is there.
- I’ve had doubtful thoughts but He is there.
- When I let depression rule my mind – He is there.
- I didn’t obey something He told me to do because I was afraid—He is still there. He doesn’t give up on me.
God lovingly corrects with His Word when we falter. We may
read something in a devotion or during our Bible reading. We may hear a spoken
word from a sermon or from a Christian brother or sister. We may feel that tug
in our spirit and hear God telling us something directly. I have even had God
give me messages through signs I see on the road as if the billboard was put
there specifically for me.
All these things are His way of putting a spiritual cushion
under us so we won’t be destroyed because we fell. 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).
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| God's Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. |
Condemnation is the hard ground we fall upon when we are
wrong. If we stay there, we hurt and grovel in the self-inflicted pain.
When my feet slipped on the wobbly WonderWorks rope, I
didn’t condemn myself for falling. I was thankful for the harness that put me
back on track.
That how our heavenly Father wants us to view Him. He
doesn’t condemn us, he protects us when we fall. His strong hands lead and
guide us back to the path. My path was in the dark except for the bright paint. Following that trail led me to the firm foundation.
What helps you stay on the solid foundation of Christ? Share your thoughts.
"He is there" is so comforting, Barbara. I love your observations on life.
ReplyDeleteThanks you for stopping by and sharing, Thele. May you have a blessed day!
DeleteThanks for wrriting this
ReplyDelete