Sunday 10 July 2011

No stumbling

Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble. – Psalm 119v165

Virtually every day is full of occasions and events that could easily trip us up in our Christian walk. These little stumbling blocks are a part of life and we, hopefully, learn how to deal with them. There are like that little stumble over a shoe or a toy that really does no harm.

Then there are the more serious stumbling blocks. Way, way back in the mid-70s I was at Bible College in Tennessee. I remember it was a cold morning so I was running along with my hands in my coat pockets. I tripped over something and landed flat on my face. Not too long ago we were at Glendalough when Maddie tripped over something and smashed her face in the dirt. She had huge scrapes on her face.

It is more the second kind of trip-up than the first that we are interested in today. These things do come along. We open our email and read some news that floors us. We get a text message that takes us off guard. We get that phone call that takes our breath away. The doctor tells us the news that knocks us off our feet.

How do we handle these big trip-ups? What happens when we are blindsided by the news we had no idea was coming?

I can look back at a few of these. I remember the sick feeling in my gut when I got the news. When that happens we must have something to depend on or we will be crushed and defeated.

David knew about this kind of news. Here he wrote that those who love the word of God have peace no matter what happens. Nothing makes them stumble. Nothing causes them offence.

Sure, we are caught off guard. We trip a little. We almost lose our footing. But we don’t take offence. We pick ourselves up and keep going.

How? We put our faith in the word of God. We trust Him to take us through any trouble. We rest in the great peace of God that passes all understanding. 

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