“If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” –Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV)
When I read this verse, I picture a baby learning how to walk, and using the aid of their mother or father’s thumbs for support. The baby’s steps are really wobbly and unstable. If something excites them, the baby might try to speed up, becoming even more unstable. But the parent keeps the control and consistency needed, in order to stay upright and not fall. This is just like God supporting us; we may get distracted by other things, try to speed up towards them because we, as humans, are impatient, but God is always our support system. Even if we don’t realize the support we’re getting…if we get distracted by a job, a relationship, money, a medical or financial need, whatever your “fill-in-the-blank” may be…He’s always supporting us; always there to pull us right back into Him.
I also picture the parent’s face in this scenario; overflowing with love and pride as they watch their little baby stumble around, veering from side to side. God is so proud of us, even though we can’t do very much. We can barely walk without Him, and yet He has a fatherly like proudness for us. A parent doesn’t think less of their child, if he/she can’t automatically walk or talk on their own; rather, they have a deeper love for their child because they are the ones who get to teach this little life how to do things–it’s the exact same with God. No matter how many times we make the stupid mistakes (maybe the same ones over and over again!), God still looks at us with love and pride, because He is the one who gets to teach us to learn through it.
The other thing that strikes me about this picture, is the baby’s willingness to take the support. Have you ever noticed how, usually, a baby will easily accept the support when offered? Some might say, “Well, they just don’t know any better, so it’s not really that big of a deal.” But if they don’t “know better,” then they could have just as easily denied the support, rather than accept it. We have to be willing to accept the support being offered by God. By accepting the fact that we are weak and He is stronger, we position ourselves in such a sweet, intimate place of humility and relationship with God. Don’t be the strong one all the time…allow yourself to accept that you are weak, putting God in control, thus making you stronger in the long-run. And finally, should the baby deny the help offered, what happens? If the strength and balance hasn’t been built up yet, he/she will fall. However, the parent is usually close behind to pick them back up and motivate them to give it another try. If, in a situation, we fall, God will be there to pick us back up…if we let Him. Maybe challenging situations are provided to give us the chance to fall, teaching us that we can’t do it by ourselves. So even though it hurts, falling can potentially be a blessing, giving us the ability to re-route our focus back to God. We will never be 100% stable to conquer things on our own. So rather than waste energy fighting against God and what He could potentially use us for, we should accept the help, using the energy to further His ministry.
“‘It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with chords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.’” –Hosea 11:3-4 (NIV)
