Falling Down
By Brookelynn Harper, Fellowship Bible Church Celebrate Recovery Devotional Team, 4/21/21
One of the only things I can remember being taught in P.E. was how to fall. There are safe ways to fall, and dangerous ways to fall. In professional sports, athletes fall down all the time, but they twist their bodies so that the fall doesn’t hurt them.
I never got the hang of it though. I’ve twisted my ankle just by taking the wrong step down a slope.
There are also ways to be falling emotionally and spiritually. For me, it often comes when I feel like something is out of control. A plan doesn’t go the way I was hoping, or I am about to do something I’ve never done before. Maybe it’s just that I’m flat-out tired, or I’m re-running a conversation with someone that went poorly. Whatever the circumstance, the result is that I feel like I’m falling.
I can never be prepared enough to avoid the feeling of falling. I can, however, decide how I land.
Sometimes I try to brace myself. I do everything that I can to get things back into my control. But just like sticking out my arms when falling results in broken bones and twisted ankles, trying to gain control just makes me want to hide, lie, and manipulate my way back into a position that I like. This results in broken relationships and a twisted sense of shame. It doesn’t keep me from falling.
I can go numb- just take the fall and pretend it doesn’t hurt. But when I do that spiritually, I find that it’s never a quick fall- it goes on and on, gaining momentum until when I do hit the ground, it hurts far too much for me to pretend everything’s fine.
But there’s a third option: choosing to fall on something soft. You may say, “Yeah, well, sometimes there’s nothing soft nearby to fall on.” And while that’s true physically, it’s quite the opposite spiritually. We have a God who wants to be the one we depend on. And he’s always nearby.
I never got the hang of it though. I’ve twisted my ankle just by taking the wrong step down a slope.
There are also ways to be falling emotionally and spiritually. For me, it often comes when I feel like something is out of control. A plan doesn’t go the way I was hoping, or I am about to do something I’ve never done before. Maybe it’s just that I’m flat-out tired, or I’m re-running a conversation with someone that went poorly. Whatever the circumstance, the result is that I feel like I’m falling.
I can never be prepared enough to avoid the feeling of falling. I can, however, decide how I land.
Sometimes I try to brace myself. I do everything that I can to get things back into my control. But just like sticking out my arms when falling results in broken bones and twisted ankles, trying to gain control just makes me want to hide, lie, and manipulate my way back into a position that I like. This results in broken relationships and a twisted sense of shame. It doesn’t keep me from falling.
I can go numb- just take the fall and pretend it doesn’t hurt. But when I do that spiritually, I find that it’s never a quick fall- it goes on and on, gaining momentum until when I do hit the ground, it hurts far too much for me to pretend everything’s fine.
But there’s a third option: choosing to fall on something soft. You may say, “Yeah, well, sometimes there’s nothing soft nearby to fall on.” And while that’s true physically, it’s quite the opposite spiritually. We have a God who wants to be the one we depend on. And he’s always nearby.
As Psalm 34 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” and “ The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”
Right now, In a period of uncertainty, confusion, and loneliness, God has been using Celebrate Recovery to show me how sweet He can be. But He shows it when I stop trying to brace myself, and instead turn to Him to protect me from the hurt.
He gives a cushion when I turn to my close circle, who keep me accountable. He turns lessons into nets that catch me as people share stories I can relate to so much. And He lifts me up and helps me stand again through the Bible, as I learn more about why He acts how He does.
And the faster I give Him all of the worries and sadness that make me feel like I’m falling, the faster I begin to be grounded as I see what He has to say about me, my goals, and all the people that I care so much about. Until suddenly, I find myself grounded again.
Right now, In a period of uncertainty, confusion, and loneliness, God has been using Celebrate Recovery to show me how sweet He can be. But He shows it when I stop trying to brace myself, and instead turn to Him to protect me from the hurt.
He gives a cushion when I turn to my close circle, who keep me accountable. He turns lessons into nets that catch me as people share stories I can relate to so much. And He lifts me up and helps me stand again through the Bible, as I learn more about why He acts how He does.
And the faster I give Him all of the worries and sadness that make me feel like I’m falling, the faster I begin to be grounded as I see what He has to say about me, my goals, and all the people that I care so much about. Until suddenly, I find myself grounded again.
Click HERE to listen to "All The People Said Amen" by Matt Maher
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