In the Disney cartoon Robin Hood, the minstrel rooster sang of the depressed state of Nottingham and the overtaxed inhabitants under the rule of Prince John: "Sometimes ups outnumber the downs, but not in Nottingham." In life there will always be ups and downs which can ebb and flow as the tide. Calm and serenity can be suddenly overwhelmed with a tsunami of negative emotions. Unexpected trials and tragedies can knock us off our feet like little children happily playing on the shore as we are having the time of our lives. Praise the LORD we are not at the mercy of the wind and the waves because God is with us, for us, and helps us.
Life brings with it pains and struggles all people must face, and God provides much more than positive thinking or a means of coping. He provides comfort, hope, and salvation far beyond our ability to claim or grasp because He is good and with us. God takes a continual interest in us due to His gracious love for us--not because we have somehow earned it. Psalm 37:23-24 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand." Those who walk with Jesus are not impervious to falling because we are walking. It is the upright man who can fall, yet God upholds us. We may be cast down, and God allows this so we might realise afresh our desperate need for Him and choose to seek Him fervently again.
Even when the "downs" seem to outnumber the "ups" when we look up to Jesus we find hope and rest beyond our strength and circumstances. The goodness of our glorious God alone makes all darkness flee and lifts us from the pit like an eagle in full flight. David mused in Psalm 42:5, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance." In the light of God's goodness, love, and grace there is no cause for worry or fear. We sometimes are downcast and even fall, but we shall not be utterly cast down. God does not cast us off for our weakness or failures, but our need ought to move us to admit them and look to Jesus. Consider all He endured and the glory revealed in Him as He persevered in faith and love: such is the future for all those who trust in Him.
"What goes up must come down," the saying goes, and this is true in the natural realm where gravity wins. We walk during the day and lay down at night to rest; we live our lives and when we breath our last we descend to the grave. Yet God in His mercy miraculously empowers us to never be at the mercy of gravity or death. As Christians we have answered an upward call with eyes lifted up and fixed upon Christ. Our future is not to descend to hell but to ascend to heaven where Jesus and righteousness dwell forever. Being cast down is a reminder of our need to look up. Even when we have no strength in ourselves to rise it is God who lift us up because He upholds us.
Life brings with it pains and struggles all people must face, and God provides much more than positive thinking or a means of coping. He provides comfort, hope, and salvation far beyond our ability to claim or grasp because He is good and with us. God takes a continual interest in us due to His gracious love for us--not because we have somehow earned it. Psalm 37:23-24 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand." Those who walk with Jesus are not impervious to falling because we are walking. It is the upright man who can fall, yet God upholds us. We may be cast down, and God allows this so we might realise afresh our desperate need for Him and choose to seek Him fervently again.
Even when the "downs" seem to outnumber the "ups" when we look up to Jesus we find hope and rest beyond our strength and circumstances. The goodness of our glorious God alone makes all darkness flee and lifts us from the pit like an eagle in full flight. David mused in Psalm 42:5, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance." In the light of God's goodness, love, and grace there is no cause for worry or fear. We sometimes are downcast and even fall, but we shall not be utterly cast down. God does not cast us off for our weakness or failures, but our need ought to move us to admit them and look to Jesus. Consider all He endured and the glory revealed in Him as He persevered in faith and love: such is the future for all those who trust in Him.
"What goes up must come down," the saying goes, and this is true in the natural realm where gravity wins. We walk during the day and lay down at night to rest; we live our lives and when we breath our last we descend to the grave. Yet God in His mercy miraculously empowers us to never be at the mercy of gravity or death. As Christians we have answered an upward call with eyes lifted up and fixed upon Christ. Our future is not to descend to hell but to ascend to heaven where Jesus and righteousness dwell forever. Being cast down is a reminder of our need to look up. Even when we have no strength in ourselves to rise it is God who lift us up because He upholds us.
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