Stumbling Vs. Standing
I love soccer and have played for decades. I grew up playing at Roswell Recreation Center. I played for Roswell High School and for Berry College. Later, I played in adult leagues in my 30s, 40s and 50s. But, because of repeated injuries, there came a point where I needed to hang up the cleats.
My final game was a 6v6, co-ed fundraiser tournament I played in with my daughter… because, who can get hurt in that, right!?!? Well, with nobody around me, I managed to stumble, fall and twist my ankle worse than ever before. Matter of fact, not only did I need help off the field, but it took me a year to recover. Getting old is hard!
We can all stumble in many ways: On the soccer field, walking to the bathroom, hiking in the woods, or in other ways like in what we say, how we respond, or how we treat someone else. We can even stumble and fall spiritually because of a temptation or distraction. Yet, God is able to help us stand!
“Be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing” (2 Peter 3:17).
While I may stumble, fall or slip… make mistakes and blow it… the Bible reminds me that God “is able to keep you from falling away” (Jude 24). What an amazing Truth. He is ABLE to hold us up and keep us from stumbling beyond His reach. He is able to cause us to stand faultless before Him. That doesn’t mean I never mess up, but that stumbling, mistakes and failures don’t keep me away from God. They don’t define me.
What defines me is God’s ability to keep me. He is able to bring us “with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault” (Jude 24). He does this through Jesus. In Christ, God forgives our sins, declares we are righteous and gives us a right “standing” before Himself. When we believe in Jesus, we are brought “into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand” (Romans 5:2).
If you stumble and fall and make mistakes, trust Jesus. He will bring you into a place of undeserved privilege. He will give you a right relationship with the Father. Then, He will keep you and cause you to stand (forgiven and holy) in His glorious presence.
Thank God, we are never beyond His reach!
Pastor Todd
