Slipping and Sliding

When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up. (Psalms 94:18 KJV)

We all slip – often on very solid grounding. It can happen when we’re not paying attention to where we are going. Keeping focused on our walk helps keep that from happening, still surprises arise.

Mankind wasn’t the first to fall. Jesus speaks of seeing Satan’s fall:

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18 KJV)

Many equate that fall to one described in Isaiah:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; (Isaiah 14:12-16 KJV)

Men have done a very good job on their own, too. Even those who chose to follow Christ, to give their all for Him.  Peter is the first example that comes to mind.  One of the earliest disciples, absolutely the most outspoken and defensively active, he still denied Jesus, just as prophesied.  Instead of being left at the wayside as a dulled example of failure, he received the same mercy offered to us and a lifetime of service.

There are other great examples in the Bible of those who failed to live up to their abilities – and God’s calling – who receive His mercy.  There are also examples of those who failed and never returned for mercy.

The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: (Proverbs 14:14 KJV)

Which brings me back to the “Thy will be done,” that Jesus so often prayed.  When we change from “I will” to “Thy will” our lives are changed, too.