Stumble

This is word I’m pretty familiar with. The older I get; the easier it is to loose my balance and stumble. The word stumble is defined as a momentary loss of balance. It’s an “almost fall”.  If I stumble a lot, I’m considered clumsy.  There is a difference between stumbling and falling. There is a figurative stumble and a literal stumble. There is also a figurative fall and a literal fall.  The consequences of a fall are more devastating than a stumble. Often stumbling leads to a fall. Check this out…

3 I know all about the people of Israel;


    what they have done is not hidden from me.


Now that Israel acts like a prostitute,


    it has made itself unclean.

4 “They will not give up their deeds


    and return to their God.


They are determined to be unfaithful to me;


    they do not know the Lord.

5 Israel’s pride testifies against them.


    The people of Israel will stumble because of their sin,


    and the people of Judah will stumble with them.

6 They will come to worship the Lord,


    bringing their flocks and herds,


but they will not be able to find him,


    because he has left them. (Hosea 5:3-6 NCV)

These are some sobering words to leaders. The people were pretty much following their leaders. The leaders were not following the Lord. Devastation and punishment came upon the people as a result. When Jesus came He pointed out the fact that we all stumble in trying to obey the law. In fact we fail miserable.  He is the only one who can keep us from stumbling. Check this out…

31 The people of Israel tried to follow a law to make themselves right with God. But they did not succeed, 32 because they tried to make themselves right by the things they did instead of trusting in God to make them right. They stumbled over the stone that causes people to stumble. 33 As it is written in the Scripture:

“I will put in Jerusalem a stone that causes people to stumble,


    a rock that makes them fall.


Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.” Isaiah 8:14; 28:16 (Romans 9:31-33 NCV)

I’m looking to the Son of God to keep me from stumbling and falling. I want Him to keep me on track. I want Him to show me the way to walk and give me the courage to walk in it. I want Him to steady me when I stumble to keep me from falling. When I fall, He will lift me up and restore my soul. He specializes in dealing with clumsy Christians.

Pressing On!

Dwayne