“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
You’ve got to be kidding me. So we were down at Panama City Beach during our last foray to the South. We were able to get a room facing the gulf which made for some great cups of coffee on the balcony in the morning and unbelievable sunsets in the evening. God definitely showed off. I have been trying to keep up my exercise routine which includes riding my bike and walking. One morning I decided to walk. I tried the beach but the sand was just too soft so I cut through to the road to try and find a better walking surface. I should have stayed on the beach.
The main road had a portion set apart for bikes so I decided to walk there. I guess because of the heat and humidity there were ridged cracks in the road about every five or six feet. I knew right away that I needed to be careful because they were obvious tripping hazards. So off I went and everything went well…until it didn’t. About halfway through my walk, I managed to miss one of the toe stubbers and caught my shoe on an big one and…down I went…face first. Are you kidding me? Is that even possible? Well, it was and it is. Once again, the Lord watched out for me and all I had was a scratched chin and a skinned knee.
Now if you are a regular Grits reader you might have noticed there have been several stories recently about my ability to fall. None of them were age related they were accidents or just plain old oops. But regardless, it has just about become a little embarrassing. And gratefully, none of them resulted in a serious injury…that is except my pride…which really took a beating. Ordinarily I would have let this one pass without a story (which would have made my wife Judy happy) but because of one of my favorite Bible verses–I just had to write one.
In Psalm 37:23-24 we read, “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.” Now isn’t that a great word from the Word? And as I thought about that verse and my recent adventures in falling, I realized it was a great truth for all of us. First, God orders our steps. He knew every fall (and everything else) before it happened. Somehow it all fit in His plan and His plan was and is delightful. You see, every fall taught me a little about me, God and life. They were worth it.
The verse goes on to tell us that when we fall into stuff like sin and failure, we will not stay down. Each time I fell physically, I was able to get up. And guess what? Every time we sin we don’t stay down either…not because we can get up but because He picks us up. Every single time. How awesome is that? Well, there you go…that is a great truth for today and every day. We don’t have to fear our failures because He will be there for us. No matter what, we can face the day knowing that–He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
