When We Slip
Sometimes it seems as if I gallop, slowly, through life. I’m up, then I’m down, then I’m up again, then I’m going full-force, then I slack off. Isn’t that how life is, though? Could it be that we were not meant to gallop, but to move in a steady, full-steam-ahead-without-stopping?
Yes, we have our ups and our downs. We learn while we’re down and rejoice when we’re up. Or at least, we’re supposed to. But life is so much more than that! There is more to life than waiting for the next valley, worrying about what’s to come, fretting over something that may not even show itself, and that’s where I’m coming from on today.
You and I were never meant to go through life at a slow gallop, stumbling, bumbling, worrying, wondering, fretting, crying, or out-and-out torturing ourselves over, well, life! We were meant to have and to live an abundant life. Here. Now. Yet, every day, we allow the enemy of our souls to slither in (and yes, he slithers), and begin to steal everything he can take from our very lives.
People, pay attention because you are standing on a slippery slope when it comes to life. Don’t get comfortable. Don’t get over-confident. Don’t get distracted. Sure as you do – BAM! – the enemy will hit you with something you thought you had taken care of. Oh, yes, you had, but you took your eyes off of Jesus for one moment and that spirit of python slithered in, coiled himself up – ready to strike – and when you weren’t looking he wrapped himself around you and began to squeeze. If you’re like me, that’s when you knew something was not right.
So, what happens now? Do we start over? Is everything we’ve worked for lost? Absolutely not! It’s still there. We just lost momentum for a bit. We lost our footing. We slipped. It’s nothing to be ashamed over. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
Instead, we fall on our face before the Lord. We repent (ask His forgiveness). We renew our minds. We take a deep breath and stand up. We straighten our armor, hold our head up, and declare: “No weapon formed against me shall prosper. I am more than victorious. I am the head and not the tail. I am above and not beneath. And I am blessed! I am blessed with every spiritual blessing. I am blessed coming in and going out. And ALL of God’s promises for me are “Yes!” and “Amen!” because I am a chosen child of God, seated in the heavenlies with Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord, and I overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony! Amen and AMEN!”
Your setback, my setback, is just a slip on the path. We all slip. It’s like walking along a path and tripping over a branch or a rock. You stumble a few steps, but right yourself and continue on. Maybe you do fall down. But you stand back up, brush yourself off, step back onto the path and continue. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, because there are others on the path, too. There is always someone close who can help you up and make sure you’re okay. You can even continue on the path, together. However, when you stumble, or even fall, you don’t go back home and start over. You continue.
Did you get that? You. Continue.
Don’t give up.
Don’t quit.
Don’t look back.
Instead…
Focus.
Repent.
Learn.
Continue.
As 2018 comes to a close, this would be a great time to prepare to embark on a new chapter of our lives. Stand up, dear ones. Make sure you have put on all of your armor, you’re going to need it. Let’s make 2019 the best year yet by letting Jesus show us what we need to do to make it such. Let Him light up the path. It might just be better than we anticipate, because He has better for us than we can even imagine.
See you on the path!
*To read more about the spirit of python, check out Jentezen Franklin’s book, The Spirit of Python. You can find it on Amazon, or click the link.
