Though a righteous man fall seven times, he will rise again… Proverbs 24:16
Colin was busy working on paperwork in the office last night and I was working in the den next door. All was quiet when suddenly there was a crash, followed by a thud and various other noises. Not a word from Col. I jumped up to see if he was all right and found him getting up off the floor, the office chair lying on it’s side along with papers and a folding table also caught up in the spill.
Apparently the chair had collapsed. At first it wasn’t obvious as I picked it up, but sure enough when I put some weight on it the tell-tale crack appeared in one of the castored legs. Obviously it had been cracked for sometime and was just waiting to let go. Actually it was my office chair, I’m glad it didn’t happen when I was sitting on it!
We put great faith in our furniture and just expect that it will withstand our weight when we sit on it. I don’t think twice about whether or not the chair will hold me when I sit down in it. We are the same with elevators, aircraft, cars and trains. We get on and expect to get off safely at the other end. Well most of us do anyway.
We also put our trust in parents, relatives, friends, people, pastors, Christian organizations and other things and sometimes they let us down unexpectedly, just like Col’s chair. It is much more difficult to recover from a relationship crash with people close to us, and even more so if it involves a Christian. We have such high expectations of fellow Christians and can feel very confused and devastated when they let us down or don’t meet the expectation we have set for them. It is so much more of a test when our emotions are involved.
Colin was busy working on paperwork in the office last night and I was working in the den next door. All was quiet when suddenly there was a crash, followed by a thud and various other noises. Not a word from Col. I jumped up to see if he was all right and found him getting up off the floor, the office chair lying on it’s side along with papers and a folding table also caught up in the spill.
Apparently the chair had collapsed. At first it wasn’t obvious as I picked it up, but sure enough when I put some weight on it the tell-tale crack appeared in one of the castored legs. Obviously it had been cracked for sometime and was just waiting to let go. Actually it was my office chair, I’m glad it didn’t happen when I was sitting on it!
We put great faith in our furniture and just expect that it will withstand our weight when we sit on it. I don’t think twice about whether or not the chair will hold me when I sit down in it. We are the same with elevators, aircraft, cars and trains. We get on and expect to get off safely at the other end. Well most of us do anyway.
We also put our trust in parents, relatives, friends, people, pastors, Christian organizations and other things and sometimes they let us down unexpectedly, just like Col’s chair. It is much more difficult to recover from a relationship crash with people close to us, and even more so if it involves a Christian. We have such high expectations of fellow Christians and can feel very confused and devastated when they let us down or don’t meet the expectation we have set for them. It is so much more of a test when our emotions are involved.
Sometimes we let ourselves or the Lord down and can retreat into a pity party of anger and self condemnation. I did that once for a whole month! But we have to get up again and go on, and the sooner we do it the better we’ll be.
The truth is, we are all on a journey and not one of us is perfected….. yet. We are all a work in progress, even those we look up to as more mature in their walk with the Lord than we are. Each of us is able to take a tumble. The Apostle Paul warns that each of us must be careful if we think we can stand strong because we may just fall (1 Corinthians 10:12).
It is very disappointing when mature Christians fall into sin or let us down by their actions towards us, but take it as a test and allow God’s love, forgiveness and grace to lift you above the disappointment or failure. Pray for those who hurt you, then get up and go on and make sure you allow yourself to trust again or you may well become bitter and cynical which will cripple you in your effectiveness in the Kingdom. Remember that we are to treat others as we want them to treat us.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to extend forgiveness and grace to those who hurt me and let me down, remembering that I may be the next one to need their forgiveness. Amen.
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