God's Roadmap

Now may the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father God, who loved us and in his wonderful grace gave us eternal comfort and a beautiful hope that cannot fail, encourage your hearts and inspire you with strength to always do and speak what is good and beautiful in his eyes (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 TPT).


Sunday, September 17, 2017

What Happens When a Christian Fails?

by Barbara Latta

Jesus is the rock of a Christian’s foundation. But sometimes I stray from the rock and go off
When I stray from the solid foundation I wobble, become anxious
and fall.
on my own and things get shaky. 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.
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).
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.

God’s Word is the light that illuminates our path and keeps our feet on the sure foundation. Our part is to know the foundation never cracks or moves but is always solid ready for us to stand on again. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

What helps you stay on the solid foundation of Christ? Share your thoughts.

2 comments:

  1. "He is there" is so comforting, Barbara. I love your observations on life.

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    1. Thanks you for stopping by and sharing, Thele. May you have a blessed day!

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