I like to go ice skating. Either at outdoor rinks or indoor arenas, it is great to glide around the surface and to experience the freedom of movement. Next Sunday afternoon, we will be skating in Tillsonburg with some of our Youth Group and anticipate that being an enjoyable time. One of the things about going ice skating is recognizing that there is a risk of falling. Even an experienced skater can hit a rough patch and lose balance and fall down. If we allowed the reality of a potential fall to deter us, then no one would take that risk. The exhilaration of skating is only possible if we take the risk. This parallels our Christian experience. When we choose to follow Jesus, there is the risk of having times that we lose our footing and fall down. There are various circumstances that could cause us to fall. Some people might be reluctant to make a commitment to Jesus because of concern that they will not always avoid mistakes and slips and falls. Praying and trusting God to help us is a key strategy to employ when it comes to taking the risk to live our lives for Jesus. There is a Scripture that can offer us encouragement when we confront a fear of falling. In Jude 24,25 we read, “To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious Presence without fault and with great joy; to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever.” Tomorrow, January 18th, when we pause for our weekly WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER at 1 pm, wewill thank God that He really can keep us from falling. God can keep us on our feet ready to serve Him and to glide into the discoveries of who He wants us to become.
Looking to God for the courage to move into the places God is calling us and to trust Him to keep us from falling, Pastor Lola
Our God thank You for the opportunities that You provide for us to move in time with You and Your Spirit. We are keenly aware that it does require courage to take risks for You. There is the risk of falling and finding ourselves inadequate for the tasks You lead us into. In these times, we want to rely on You and to look to Your strong arms to hold us up and to keep us from falling. Currently, we are praying for extreme wisdom for those who face the challenges of trying to bring peace in the Ukraine. We cannot see where the answers will lie, but know that You God have answers to what is beyond us as human beings. We are deeply troubled by the violence that we see continuing there and pray for Your intervention to bring this war to an end. We pray for other places of conflict in communities, workplaces, medical facilities, schools and homes. God, in all these places we pray for those who are listening for You and asking You to guide and assist. We pray for those who have grown so tired with all the complexities to navigate. We pray that they will look to You for the courage and strength required. In a world where we are faced with everyday decisions about justice and making the choices consistent with Your love and grace, we want You to keep us from falling. We do not want self preservation or a desire for the easy path to be more important to us that taking bold steps for You and Your kingdom. When we recognize that You God are accompanying us and asking us to remain upright and strong for You, we want to be true to that calling. We think of all that weighs us down or threatens to weaken our resolve. These are the impediments that on any day could find us buckling under pressure. Instead, we want to rely on You to do Your work in keeping us from falling. In this vital activity, our prayer is that Your enabling strength will highlight You God, not us. Prevent us from ever pretending that we can be strong enough on our own. We always want to openly admit that only You can keep us from falling. In the times that we have relied on our own limited strength and have inevitably fallen, we thank You that You help us back to our feet. You God enable us to move forward for You. We take courage because You are the reason we have for courage when we are afraid of falling. When You have kept us from falling, we want to be deliberate in giving You God our Saviour all glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord before all ages, now and forever. AMEN.