Falling

It is so crazy to me how God orchestrates every single day of our lives even down to the tiniest details. Today was a beautiful Spring day in Oxford especially with all the azaleas in bloom. I went on a walk early this morning and took my dog Emmy too just so I could soak up more of this gorgeous day God had given me. I love to take walks around our neighborhood because I have found it can be great prayer time for me. It is actually the one place that is completely quite and I am removed from all distractions. This morning though instead of praying the Lord just brought a song to my head and I kept singing it over and over. I want to share this song with you because the Lord revealed Himself to me today through this song.

To The Only God

To the only God
Who is able to keep us
Able to keep us
From falling

To the only God
Be all glory and honor
Majesty and power
From all ages now
Forever more

I reflected on this song throughout my entire day until it lead directly into my afternoon. I was meeting with a student name Christie and we have been studying the book of Micah together since the beginning of the year. We were finally finishing up with chapter 7 today when I had an “ahh” moment with God. If you are not familiar with the book of Micah I highly suggest you study it because you will learn so much about the Lord’s judgment and His forgiveness but I will give you a little background information. The purpose of the book of Micah was to show the people of Judah that God would judge them for their sin and disobedience, but that He will ultimately establish a kingdom whose King will reign in righteousness . Micah 5:2 says, “from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from old, from ancient days,” and Micah 5:4 says, “And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.” From chapter 1 to chapter 7 we see this continuous cycle of God’s judgment and restoration. In chapter 7 Micah shares his hope for Israel’s future deliverance. He had given up on the people of Judah, but he could still watch in hope for the Lord because he knew God would answer his prayers. Micah 7:7-8 says, “But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” Micah concludes his book with beautiful words that focus on the Lord’s faithfulness and compassion. 

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.”

Micah then fell silent, knowing Israel’s future rested securely in the hands of God, who keeps His word. So where am I going with all of this? As I sang all day “to the only God, who is able to keep us, able to keep us, from falling,” I later find myself so deep in a passage of scripture that is all about a nation completely fallen that God is going to restore (rise). And Micah fully believed that! He proclaimed the promises of God and believed that the Lord would be faithful to His word. He said, “my God will hear me,” “I shall rise,” and  ”you will show faithfulness.” 

This is just what I need to hear today and I believe the Lord orchestrated this song and scripture into my life today. The past year of my life has been filled with many moments where I felt as if I were on the edge of a cliff and at any moment I might fall. I have had many days where I thought to myself “just what is tomorrow going to bring” or “can I even make it another day” or “what if I just completely fall?” I am sure that some of you have had these moments too so I wanted to take a moment to encourage you because I have been greatly encouraged today. I think what we really need to do in the moments is cling to Word of God and have confidence in His faithfulness. Psalm 37:23-24 says, “The steps of man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” Psalm 145: 14 says, “The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” Cling to these promises and have confidence that God will keep His word.  He is able to keep us from falling and even if we do fall, we shall rise!