Dearly beloved in Christ,
I greet you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
People living at various levels fall due to unforeseen circumstances and are in pangs. A few years ago, one of my relatives was washing clothes. He got up for some reason and began to walk but slipped and fell. His ball-and-socket joint got fractured. He had severe pain for several days. Dear Brother/ sister, you may be in a good position in your spiritual life, or in your family life or financial life or health. But an unexpected fall renders life futile. But there is One who can uphold us at such times when we fall from being shattered. This is the Lord Jesus Christ who is loving enough to uphold us from falling. He acts with concern. This loving Jesus Christ upholds anyone today and forever. He does that from the time we were conceived in the womb (Isaiah 46:3). “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by Me from birth, who have been carried from the womb” (Isaiah 46:3). He does that even in old age (Isaiah 46:4). We know that it is His promise. If it is so, then why do we fall at all?
In Proverbs 24:16, we read, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” Again in Amos, it is written: “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old” (Amos 9:11). Let us examine why we fall down and whom the Lord upholds.
1. The Wicked
“There the workers of iniquity have fallen; They have been cast down and are not able to rise.” (Psalm 36:12).
In this Bible portion, it is made clear that the workers of iniquity will fall and that they cannot rise up. They do evil things and, in their places, there would be chaos. By doing evil, they spoil peace and comity in the area. The environment of peace will be disturbed. By their evil acts, the life of the people will be affected. They trust in their might and power to carry out wicked deeds hideously in the lives of others. It is their way of life. In Psalm 64, their acts are vividly explained. They lay traps for others. They boast that none would know their cunning acts. “They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?”
They gather in an isolated area and devise evil against others. There would be a person to whom they give the names of persons against whom it should be done. He gets them in writing. He performs certain rituals and utters certain invocative evil words addressed to evil spirits to perform those wicked acts against the persons named. Then these wicked acts happen in the lives of those persons. He earns his living in that way, getting money from these evil doers.
Once we were ministering in a foreign land. After singing songs, one Brother who accompanied me rose up to address the gathering. All of a sudden, a man came in the midst of the gathering and fell down convulsing. Seeing him, the crowd began to disperse. When we enquired, we came to know that he was a man who worked witchcraft there. The Bible says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Saying so, we encouraged them and continued with the message. That man repented and gave up the wicked deeds that day.
The Lord watches those who indulge in wicked acts. The Bible says, “But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away” (Psalm 64:7-8).
2. People with No Counsel
“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14).
We need counsel in everything, big or small. In the family life, the wife consults her husband as to what she should cook for food for the day. They even get the opinions of the others regarding their dress and look. We need the opinion of others in arranging marriages, buying properties, etc. In all important matters of the family, we consult one another. In the matter of higher education, starting a new phase of life or business, we need the counsel of others. Taking wrong decisions results in unforeseen losses and painful consequences. The Lord counsels us in our day-to-day activities. He says, “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.” (Psalm 32:8). He is the Lord of Counsel (Is. 9:6). Where there is no counsel of the Lord, people suffer loss, disappointments, and wreckage and are put to untold sufferings.
Once a retired government official came for prayer. He appeared to be in grief. He asked me to pray for his problems. I enquired about his problems. He had a good family with wife and three girls. He invested his retirement benefits in a financial company for the family’s future needs. They assured him high interest and he acted according to the counsel of his friends. But the company was closed all of a sudden. Though he approached the company through several persons, there was no response. He shed tears, as he had no other way to lead his life. His pension was inadequate to meet the expenses of the family. He had counsel from people, which paralysed his life.
Many people weep in life because of lack of right counsel. They fail to seek the counsel of the Lord. Let us always seek the counsel of the Lord to be blessed.
3. Haughtiness
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses; but we will remember the the name of the LORD our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright.” (Psalm 20:7,8).
Chariots and horses denote their trust in their own strength and possessions. “A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.” (Psalm 33:17). “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!. . . Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, both he who helps will fall, and he who is helped will fall down;They all will perish together” (Isaiah 31:1,3). Today some trust their own accomplishment, their wisdom and skills, and possessions and boast about them. They are sure to fall, because of defeats.
Once the captain of a team boasted that they would certainly win in a one-day contest. Their team was a good one; they were expected to play well. But contrary to their expection they suffered defeat for want of just one run. The Lord resists the proud. Without knowing that, they trust in their self and meet with failure and loss. Therefore, we should not be haughty.
4. Acting Against God’s People
“Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.” (1 Samuel 17:49).
Goliath was six cubits and a span. He was heavily armed and protected with weapons. He relied on his weapons and might. He challenged the Israelites every day to send one to fight with him; and slighted them with words. The Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid of him. But David, hearing his words of abuse, was ready to take up the challenge as he had defied the armies of the living God. David, who had been anointed by the Lord, prepared himself to meet Goliath the Philistine in battle. He was not deterred by the words of his brothers. Seeing his stature, Goliath disdained and cursed the anointed David. ‘Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. . . Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands”’ (1 Sam. 17:45,47). So David prevailed over him with a sling and a stone and killed him. There was no sword in his hands, but drew the sword of Goliath and cut off his head with it.
Dear Brother/ Sister, when you rise against the anointed servants of God and His children, you are sure to fall. There is certainly difference between the righteousness of men and that of God. Without knowing that, if you oppose them, you are likely to fall. Once a man wrote a letter accusing a minister of the Lord. He posted it and, on the way, back home, he died. There is a covenant between the Lord and His servants. He made a covenant with Abraham: “I will bless them who bless you and curse him who curses you.” He is the same today. He does not change. You should be careful in this matter.
When you find faults in the servants of God and His children, pray for them. That is what the Bible teaches. When you act against the Word of God, we would incur curse not only against us but also for posterity. As we are called for blessings, let us bless others too from today. We read in Numbers 12:5-10: “Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. . . So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow.” So when we rise up against the children of God, we would fall.
5. Losing the Original Love
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works...” (Rev. 2:4-5).
Fall is also due to leaving the first love. When broken and lost, we come to the Lord. We plead with the Lord for His mercies as Job did: “For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge” (Job 9:15). We have miraculous healing, and gain peace; slowly day by day we love the world and slide back. In the beginning we were always with the Bible, but later we have time for the newspaper and story books and no time for the Lord. Those who came to church before the worship commenced now begin to come late and sometimes miss the service too. This is the way we go back in our spiritual realm. We lose the first love we had for the Lord and then we fall. Thus darkness enters that light cannot again shine there.
Dear child of God, are you fallen in your life? Just consider the reason why you are fallen and take steps to set right things. The Lord will lift you up.
1. Those Who Wake Up
“I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” (Psalm 3:5).
The Bible advises us to be vigilant in our lives, and counsels us for various reasons. “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” (Eph. 5:14). You should wake up for the Lord to give you light. We should pray so that we should not fall into temptation. “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). In 1 Peter 5:8, we read: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” As we wake up, the Lord will uphold us so that we may not fall and get broken. He upholds. We should be vigilant spiritually; so also in our body to do things. Then the Lord will uphold us.
2. Those Who Walk Pleasing Him
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.” (Psalm 37:23-24).
The Lord upholds those who lead a life pleasing the Lord. We should please Him. When we try to please worldly people, we may have some concessions. David pleads with the Lord: “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness” (Psalm 143:10). Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Daniel is said to be ‘greatly beloved’ of the Lord. Thus when we live pleasing the Lord, He upholds us and will help us to circumvent difficult situations. Sometimes the circumstances are such that one has to fall into temptation spiritually. But when you live pleasing the Lord, He will not permit you to fall. He will uphold you and make you walk in His ways.
Once, one elder Brother lost all his positions and exaltation in the church because he fell into a sin. He realized his sin and was repentant. The Lord says: “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23). The Lord did as He has said and established him in the same position. Today if our words, senses, thoughts and deeds are pleasing to the Lord, He upholds and leads us.
3. Those Who Acknowledge Their Fall
“If I say, “My foot slips,” Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.” (Psalm 94:18).
The Lord upholds us because of His abundant mercies. When we seek His presence in prayer and express our inabilities before Him, He does so. That is why we need a life of prayer. As we increase in our prayer life, His hand upholds us. He has said: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15). Whenever we sense a situation where we are likely to fall, we should pray. Prayer can move the hands of the Lord to support us.
Once, I was returning by a motor bike after a meeting. At a turning, the bike slipped and fell. I shouted “Jesus.” The mercy of the Lord protected me. I jumped off the bike and the Lord preserved me from any hurt. Yes, when our legs slip, we should report it to the Lord. Then by His grace He upholds us.
4. When the Lord is With You
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ (Isaiah 41:10).
If we give room for the Lord to be with us, His mighty right hand upholds us. The Lord has promised: “. . . And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20). Today let us open the doors of our hearts, hearing His words, and the Lord will dwell with us and support us from falling.
Today be vigilant, do what pleases Him and devote yourself in prayer. The Lord will then be with you and prevent you from falling. He will lead you.
May the Lord bless us!
In the service of Christ Jesus,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.