Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” Psalm 37:23
It is a call I get all too often. I have the privilege of serving as a pastor. That privilege includes being there when people are walking through a crisis. One thing about the pastorate is when I wake up each morning, whether I go to the office or not, I never know what the day will hold. It is not at all uncommon for someone to call me. Sometimes it is good news…the baby came…I got the job…we bought a house. Sometimes, and frankly too often, it is difficult news. It could be a child going down a difficult path, a job lost, a marriage violated or difficult news of an accident or health crisis.
Some of the most common health crises is when a senior adult takes a fall. Life is ordinary and then suddenly, a loss of balance or a toe caught on a rug, results in a hard fall and we all know older bones can be very unforgiving. I can’t tell you how many calls I have received about broken bones and broken bodies. One of the most difficult situations is when the person fell and can’t get to a phone to call for help. We have had several situations when someone would fall and have to lay in the floor for hours….long hours.
In one instance, a friend fell in her driveway, and no one found her till the next morning. She was an amazingly resilient lady and after surgery recovered well, but that is not always the case. One of the newer devices I really appreciate is a “call button” that a person wears and if they have an emergency, they can press a button and help is soon on the way. I see the commercials on tv, and they show a woman in the kitchen in pain. She presses the button and says, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Another scene shows a man down in the park and he presses the button and says, “Help! I’ve fallen in the park, and I can’t get up.” The last one is someone down in the shower and they too can’t get up and are calling for help.
It is times like these that those simple rescue devices are so valuable. There is no telling how many lives have been saved. Of course, for them to work you must have one and you must wear one. And if you do…help is on the way. It can’t reverse the circumstances, but it can change the outcome. “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” It is true when we fall physically but the truth is we can fall in other ways…emotionally and spiritually just to name a couple…and we find we can’t get up. And I want you to know that there is something better than a button to press…there is a God to call on.
I’ve long said that God often gets a bad rap. Too often preachers and teachers present Him as a lightening tossing, fire breathing God who can’t wait to send down a little fire and brimstone on creation. Well, God is holy, and God is just, but first and foremost He is a God of rescue and redemption. He is a God of love. The New Testament writer even tells us that He wants no one to perish but everyone to be rescued. Now, that’s love. Maybe you think you are beyond rescue…you’ve fallen too far. No so. His grace is deep, and it is wide.
One of my favorite Bible verses is Psalm 37:24. It says that even if I fall, I will not be utterly cast down. In other words…no matter how hard or how far I fall, I don’t have to stay down. The reason? It simply says that God will pick me up with His strong hand. Either He will pick me up or grab me on the way down but either way it is not a knockout punch…His grace is sufficient. If you are feeling down for the count, maybe it’s time to cry out, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” You will find His strong hand right there to help you up. He is just waiting for you to ask. I like that. Can He pull it off? Without a doubt…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 