The Fear of Falling

I was recently able to spend a little bit of time reading over my Great Grandpa’s sermon notes, and I found some pretty cool things.

Because my life has been getting pretty crazy lately, I’m going to be doing some collaborated posts, some of which are with my Great Grandpa’s sermon notes.

I’ve heard that my great Grandpa was an energetic pastor and that he was the kind of person who would wave his harms and get excited about getting to teach the Bible. I never got to see him preach, (At least not that I can remember) but from reading his sermons, I believe it.

In 1978 He preached a message about his fear of falling, which I totally relate to (Not that the fear of falling keeps me from crawling onto high things...) 

The point my Grandpa wanted to make was that in this world, we have done a lot of falling. A falling into a kind of moral laxness, with low levels of thoughts, speech and behavior.

And that needs to scare us, but at the same time give us hope.

You see, it’s so easy to lose your balance when discouragement comes, and heartaches arise, and in those times we need to be more careful then we would have to be in normal circumstances. 

In the book of Jude it says that, “God is strong, and can help you not fall.” Which really, is pretty deep stuff. You see, that involves trusting in him enough to let him keep you up.

My Grandpa asked this question: how does God keep a man from falling? 

This was a question that I had asked myself many times. How can I keep from falling—even when it feels like I fall so often, so I read on with anticipation. 

The first idea that he presented was that God keeps us from falling by directing us to the company that we need.

In 1 Corinthians 15 we are told that “bad company corrupts good morals.” In the same way, when you are hanging out with bad company, they eat away at our good morals and lead us to falling. In Hebrews, we are also told to “forsake not the assembling of yourselves together… and so much more as you see the day approaching.”

You see, friends are treasures, and friends who will worship with you are the best kind. When we gather together as a community of believers, so many amazing things happen. In Matthew 18:19, we are told, “"Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”

The second note that my Grandpa wanted people to know, was that in the hard times, when we are falling, that we can have peace if we look to Jesus.

When Peter was falling in the wind and waves, it was only after he took his eyes off Jesus. When he looked at the storm that raged around him, that was when he slipped. When we take our eyes off the Author and Perfecter of our faith that is when we begin to slip and fall.  

When our view changes from that of doubts to one of faith and surrender, our fears turn to faith, our serves are steadied, and our confidence returns.

That is the part of falling that can give us hope. That’s not saying that we should “try” to fall, but when we do Jesus is there to lift us up. When we are down in the valley low, Jesus will lift us up.

“…And in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.” ~Deuteronomy 1:31

~Rachel Joy and Burt Pearson