I Will Rise Again

January 17, 2017

Day 17:  Slippery Ice:
"Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.  He will not permit the godly to slip and fall." —Psalm 55:22

Anderson's lesson today was a simple reminder to be mindful of others, especially the elderly, and their needs.  He shared a story of an elderly woman who had fallen and broken her hip while trying to clear her walkway of snow and ice.  She was on the ground for over an hour until someone finally found her.  He uses the story to encourage us to remember the above scripture and to thank God for taking care of us, especially when we slip and fall (physically and spiritually).

To say that God does not "permit the godly to slip and fall" seems counterintuitive.  I think the particular translation that Anderson was using is a little misleading.  Of course we slip and fall, but I take it to mean that God doesn't allow us to be so shaken that we cannot recover.  We can count on Him to help us up and move us forward.  All we need to do is ask and be ready to take His hand

when He reaches for us. When I began this blog a few weeks ago, I was in a state of utter despair and deeply shaken.  I opened up to my dearest friend about where I was at and her words gave me the strength to trust and cry out to God in earnest.  I had been crying out, but I was still doubting.  I wasn't really reaching for His hand.  I wasn't reading his Word out of fear that I would see the scriptures in the same light as I had been taught them.  I was afraid that I would only feel condemnation and a constant reminder of how I have fallen short and would continue to do so because I couldn't possibly go back to being the Christian I was when I was a part of the International Church of Christ, the "one true church."  Much of the despair that I have felt has lifted.  I know it is because I have been reading the scriptures and applying myself to understanding and connecting with them on a personal level and being open with my fears, doubts, and general feelings about past experiences.  Speaking of past experiences, I know that I have not been putting the International Church of Christ in a good light by sharing how I feel I was manipulated and twisted by its teachings. I will say, I know that the people I shared my heart with had good intentions and felt that they were doing God's will and leading souls in the right direction.  They were not acting maliciously, not on purpose and with the intent to harm.  They were good people, trying to find their way, just as I was. Many of them are still members of that church, which, as I was leaving it, was in turmoil and examining its methods of instruction and discipleship.  I hope they have found a better way, a more balanced and loving way to bring people to God and help them on their spiritual journey. I will also say that I will continue to work through my feelings and misgivings regarding my past experiences with the church and its teachings (at least how I viewed and received its teachings).  If I am ever to have a pure walk with God, I must rise above my past.