Taking Hold

We all know those times in our life when we hit a peak spiritually and we feel like our relationship with God has hit it's pinnacle and we are just on fire to impact the world and dive deeper into what Christ has for us. And we also know those times when our footing slips and we plummet into a valley so deep we doubt that we'll ever emerge. Sometimes, these valleys manifest themselves in our physical, everyday lives and other times, they come about just through doubts or stresses that cause us to have problems with and within ourselves. But here's the thing: sometimes we have to fight. Actually, there will almost always be a struggle. Christianity is no walk in the park but there is a ray of light: we have help. When I say help, I'm not talking about those around us (even though they were placed in our life for a reason and they're great too), but God. He will never leave our side no matter how many relationships come and go, how many illnesses we suffer, or how many times we stab Him in the back. God's love never fails. However, in His unfailing love, He intentionally leaves us the room to grow on our own. That's what the valleys are for.

See, I'm the type of person who, when I fall from my peak, I mope and wallow in my low state until God sends something or someone along to literally drag me from my state of distress. But it dawned on me today as I felt myself physically and emotionally begin to stumble, that I didn't have to even let myself slide. Jesus is always throwing down a rope and I have been failing all along to look up and take old of it. Today I did and while the suffering is still there, I know that the hope I cling to now will sustain me and pull me from my descent into the cavern.

Now that I've read over that, it sounds pretty simple. But it takes a lot more work then one would expect. The thing I personally must remember is that the hard part is not being pulled up, it's taking the time to realize that the rope is there. And that means that at all times I need to strive to keep God as my focus so that when I slip, my natural reaction is to reach up and take hold of the rope of Christ's unconditional Love.