Several years ago, my wife, Linda, and I vacationed at a resort in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania that had three hiking trails. On one of our days there, we decided to walk one of the trails. We had been told that the trail went through a stream, so we brought our flip-flops so that we wouldn’t end up with soggy shoes. As we made our way along the trail, we arrived at the stream, put our flip-flops on, and proceeded to walk through the coldest water I have ever felt in my life. This water was so cold that it hurt! I made my way across and looked at my feet, which were cold and red. Then I saw that Linda was still in the stream, struggling to keep her footing in that icy water. Without giving it a second thought, I stepped right back into that stream, made my way to my wife, and helped her across.
Just as I was there to help Linda get her footing and walk across that icy stream, God is there for us whenever we stumble or slip in life and need His supporting hand to hold us up. It may be through temptations, through trials and tribulations, or even through sin, but we all have times in our lives when we stumble, slip, or lose our footing. But, when we call on the Lord, He reaches out His hand to us so that we don’t fall flat on our faces (Psalm 37:4). When we cry out to Him, letting Him know that we are slipping, His unfailing love for us holds us up (Psalm 94:18).
When we walk with God, when we lean on Him for support, then our steps will be secure and we will not stumble (Proverbs 3:23). When we follow the Lord, when we trust in His ways and not our own, He sets us on the right path, a path that is straight so that we will not fall (Proverbs 3:5-6). And when we keep His Word in our hearts, we will not slip and fall (Psalm 37:31). His Word is a lamp that will light up our path, that will help us to see clearly where our feet step (Psalm 119:105).
That encounter with the stream was a moment in our relationship that Linda and I will ever forget. Let none of us ever forget the times when God, in His love, has stepped into our icy streams and held us up as we walked through it to the other side.
A Worshiper's Journal 