He will not let your foot slip

03/08/2017 15:10

One morning last week as I was enjoying my Quiet Time, a verse from the Bible grabbed me.

 

“He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber.”

Psalm 121:3.

 

What a wonderful promise! It was comforting to know that our God never sleeps. But then … a friend's comment came to mind. I'd shared the same verse with her.

“He did let my husband’s foot slip you know!”

 

I was stunned. Stunned because what she said was true. Her husband had fallen off a roof many years ago and he’s been a paraplegic ever since. God did allow his foot to slip. My heart ached for her. So what does the verse mean then? It's obviously not meant to be taken literally. What hope do these promises offer us? Does God promise us any protection? Five friends’ feet slipped this year. Two sprained their ankles; one broke hers, one broke her leg in a compound fracture. The fifth was shaken and took a day to recover. They are all believers, able to claim the promises of scripture boldly.

 

But … God had let their feet slip.

God has allowed my feet to slip too both in literal and metaphorical ways. I’ve had one sprained ankle and several tumbles in my time. Due to feet that wobble, I’ve learnt  to move with care and to look down (instead of up or around me) as I walk. There’ve also been instances in my life when in spite of my good intentions, I have wandered off metaphorical pathways. I’ve made silly blunders—far too many of them. I’ve had moments and seasons when I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

 

I came to the sobering realisation that I needed help in understanding that Psalm.

Meanwhile, I did know that God has always made good out of all the adversity I've faced in my life.

 

Here's what He has done for me when my feet have slipped: 

 

Picture a mountain slope after rain. I climb slowly, breathing in the fresh cold air. After a little while I get distracted and that's when I get cocky. And pride comes before a fall. I find the sludge under my feet move. I gasp … too late. My foot slips off the pathway. I slide. Fast. I find myself rolling down at an alarming rate, the mud spattering about me. I shout to God. ‘Help me Father. Save me.” In that instant He is by my side. He smiles. Tenderly He reaches out and picks me up. He places me on His shoulders. He takes a short cut back up the track with long quick strides and with tender glances of grace.

 

Before long we have reached further up the summit—far above where I’d been walking. That’s what God does. He doesn’t always keep me from harm or sin but when I slip, He comes to my help. He changes it from a permanent slip into a temporary one. He puts me back on track, even further up the path in life than I’d been before my fall.

I decided to do a bit of research on this verse. The commentaries I checked threw light on my darkness and I finally understood. They shared that our spiritual standing will never be offset by anything the world throws at us. So that’s it. What a wonderful promise—even better than its literal meaning. After all, spiritual truths unlike worldly ones last for eternity. Expounders of the Word reminded me that we are grounded in truth and covered by grace. So we can boldly refute all the lies the Enemy whispers in our ears. How heart warming to know that any harm we encounter is short-lived. Our eternal joy and eternal hope will never be dislodged from under our feet.

 

 

The glad truth is that the foundation we stand on as followers of Jesus is not our good works or our decent moral lives, No, the Rock we stand on is Jesus. Pain and failure are part of this world and God does not always remove its dangers. But no matter what the difficulty, we are safe when walk with Him. God’s Hand keeps us stready. His truth is immovable. His infinite goodness and power will be a rock under our feet. We might occasionally slip and slide and sway but once we become His, we are His forever.

 

Has your foot slipped lately? Don’t be afraid. It’s not as bad as you might believe. His grace is but a prayer away. Turn to Him in repentence and trust. He will pick you up. You will rise up and stand firm. You are safe in His care.

 

All is well.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

 

He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
 

the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121: 1- 8 (NIV)