Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.¹

When my children were ‘new walkers’, all three had a near tumble down some stairs. In every instance, each one of them insisted that they could do it on their own and soon realized that stair climbing was a lot harder to take on than plain floor walking! As new parents, leery of letting our children take those big steps, we stayed close behind watching their steps closely. But each child eventually missed a step and as they started to fall, my, much faster and more athletic, husband jumped over the child and down a few steps to catch their fall; resulting in scrapes and bruises on my husband's part but a safe and sound toddler! Three times I watched this same scenario take place, and three times I thought how this is exactly how it must be for God. When we insist on taking on situations that we just aren’t ready for, God allows us to use our free-will and try, but is right there to catch us when we begin to fall. He already knows our steps because He’s already mapped them out and ordered them; He knows that He may need to catch our fall and has each step that He will have to jump carefully measured.

More recently, while at a scenic lookout point on the side of a road, my youngest child decided to stand a little too close to the edge of a small cliff. Disregarding our warnings to step back, she lost her footing and began to slide down the hill. Although she remained on her feet, she just couldn’t get her tracking due to the loose dirt, and thus kept sliding further and further. I watched, helpless, as she reached out for anything to grab onto, but to no avail. A thorny bush eventually stopped her descent, leaving her scared, scraped, and bruised, but safe. This one time her father was unable to stop her fall as she fell out of his reach; all he could do was yell out to her and try to instruct her as to where to grab on. Again, I thought this is how it is with Godâ€"or rather, this is how we are with God! We don’t listen to His guidance, and we begin to fall away from Him, desperately reaching for something to hold on to when all we have to do is listen to His voice and reach out for Him!

God already knows our steps, so during those difficult moments just reach out and take His hand. He is there to hold you up.

Suggested Prayer: Dear Father, Your ways are perfect, and your steps are sure and safe. Help me to stay in the way that you have already set out for me. Let your hand always be there to guide me and allow me to hear your voice and listen. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1.    Psalm 37:23-24 (NKJV).

Today’s Encounter was written by: Veronica B.