The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
Psalm 37:23–24 (NASB95)
Pennsylvania is generally called Rocksilvania by the Appalachian Trail (AT) hikers, and for good reason. It is my least favorite state, the mid to upper section that is.
The rocks are relentless. They are everywhere, jutting out in every direction, of every imaginable size and shape, and it seems mostly with their edges facing up. The ATers will tell you that the local communities come out at night with big files and sharpen the rocks up for the next day’s hikers. 😊
Your feet and ankles really get hammered in this state. Your footwear takes such a terrible beating that if they are in poor shape when you enter the state, you will be leaving the state with new ones.
In many areas you just cannot get into your usual rhythm and stride. You feel constantly out of sync, are forever looking down and are stepping all over the place. Tripping or rolling an ankle is a constant threat. The worst is when it rains and there is lichen on the rocks. The reason being, it is like someone has draped a greased Slip-N-Slide over the trail.
When I was hiking across the area in the picture, the Wolf Rocks, it was raining. There were wet leaves everywhere, and of course in some areas there was lichen on the rocks. ☹
Where I camped the night before (in the rain), an ATer told me to be careful going across Wolf Rocks as he fell hard just that day there.
Boy, he was not kidding! I was being super cautious. Even so, at one spot my feet went flying up and the rest of me was “comin’ in hot!” as they say. I landed so hard on my right side and forearm that it bruised the bone. I felt it for weeks afterwards. (I am sure there are better ways to check your bone density. At least there was no copay.)
All I could do was thank the Lord that when I fell, I did not break anything, and I was not hurled headlong into a rock. The Lord was certainly holding my hand!
We find ourselves often enough in daily life taking all kinds of blows. Some “Come in hot” without warning; completely unexpected. POW! and we are on the ground reeling. At other times we are warned of the possibility of some adversity and even taking extra precautions, BAM! we fall victim to it anyway. There are those times of course when we ourselves throw caution and wisdom to the wind and YOWCH! we get bit hard as a result of our own foolishness. ☹
Whatever the case may be, because of Psalm 37:23-24, there is no valid reason why 2 Corinthians 4:8–10, should not be true of every gospel believer. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (ESV)
Honest to goodness, there is no situation that our Lord has not made more than ample provision for us to live life to the full through Him and for His glory. Think of that… Sincerely…? Can that really be true…? Could we ever even DARE to believe that there is no blow we could ever suffer or anywhere we could ever go in life that God is not only able but able and WILLING… to carry us through?! Selah.
The palmist struggled with these questions too, and thankfully God answered them through the palmist.
Inspired by the fact that God’s grace and mercy are so incredible, so amazing, so unfathomable that the psalmist in Psalm 8:4 is prompted to ask our Creator God, what is man (fallen, broken, weak, obstinate as we are) that you (who are holy, perfect and infinite in all that is good and right) are mindful of him (that You pay any attention to us at all), and the son of man (the frail human race) that you care (so incredibly, so compassionately) for him? (ESV)
Here is the answer God provides in response to the psalmist’s question and the reason for all these gracious and merciful provisions: Psalm 103:14, For he (God) knows (with absolute perfection and completeness) our frame (the image of God created in man that He created, the sin force or law that man added to himself, and how these two compositions work against each other); he remembers (in all His interactions with and for us) that we are dust (that WITHOUT His grace and mercy we are utterly hopeless. We would not get back up after certain severe falls. We would be hurled headlong into oblivion and judgment.)
But because our Creator God “KNOWS” and “REMEMBERS,” He holds our hand whereby enabling us to get back up and to live a fulfilling life through Christ and for His glory). (ESV)
God makes all the provisions, but He does not do all the work. We have to “ante up” to our part by applying practical faith in Christ’s promises, press towards the goal of spiritual life that is set before us, and ask for forgiveness, correcting our wrong doing if it applies. Whatever the circumstances are, Christ is ABLE, WILLING, and READY to promote us into His likeness and kingdom. 😊
Considering all that God does on our behalf, the very least we can do is get busy for Him, as He says in Romans 12:1-2.
Maybe we can post a picture somewhere that represents our most difficult hike or circumstance in order to remind us that, with God holding our hand, we got through it. Remembering as well, that He stands ABLE, WILLING, and READY to get us through any future difficulty through Christ, and for His glory.
Faith Aids 