Sunday 1 January 2012

fireplace: keep me from falling

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25
Isn’t it great to remember that even as we step into a new year we step into it knowing that we know the ending? Doesn’t it resonate with you that no matter what challenges this new year brings, He can and will keep you from falling?
It doesn’t matter what 2011 has been to you. It doesn’t matter even if you felt that it was a bitter defeat, even if you know that you failed to achieve everything you wanted to. Because we know that in the end, there is victory. These dreams He has put in you does not just die alone, unless you let it. Unless you tell Him that it is impossible. Because with Him all things are possible.
Opening a new book implies trust. It says I’m ready for a new adventure. I’ve read the blurb, I’ve previewed some chapters, and I’m ready to jump right into it, right now. You trust the author to give you something fresh, something new, something exciting. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t, but you can’t enjoy a new book to its fullest if you’re still thinking about what the old one says. And this new year is a new book for you. It’s when you stand on the edge and say, “I trust in God’s promises”.
Saying this isn’t easy. It would be easy if all I was looking forward to was the same ol’ same ol’. But it’s not. I don’t want to stay the same. I don’t want to linger where His presence has passed by. I want to stop living in the place where we complain about what used to happen, or what it’s supposed to be like, without actually moving to make it happen. And I’m not saying “make it happen again” because I don’t want an again. I don’t want to be stuck searching for the same old anointing when there’s a fresh one waiting. I want to dive into the future, into the adventure, into the streams of life.
And the beginning of it all, is surely, to let go. But I have a fear of falling, of free falls, except that falling is where He catches you. Because faith, the only condition of our hearts that is capable of receiving the grace of God, goes by these words “against all hope, in hope believed”. And when you reach your lowest point, you remember the father who cried out, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
It’s a new year. And I believe, for me, it’s a year of pushing on, of stretching, of becoming. I don’t know exactly what the road will look like, though I believe there will be some trust falls required. It’s scary, really, until I keep in mind that He is able to keep me from falling.