b>Always There To Catch You
(Psalm 94:17-19)

Movies wouldn't be nearly as exciting without those stunt men. You know those high-priced stars aren't going to take all the risks that give the viewer those big thrills. Every once in a while, a script will call for a man to fall off a building or even a cliff. And that star says, "I'm outta here, folks." But later the viewer will see a man hurtling through the air backwards, and you know it isn't a dummy because his arms are flailing. Or maybe some might argue that the stunt man is a dummy for taking a plunge like that. But it sure looks like we won't be seeing that falling man again. But appearances aren't everything. No! It looks like he's headed for a crash, but he's actually headed for a net!

That man going over the edge, arms flailing, out of control--that could be a picture of David's condition in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Psalm 94 beginning at verse 17. In fact, it could be a picture of your condition right now.

David says, "Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' Your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul." The Psalmist has good news for those of us who may be feeling like we're close to the edge, or even over the edge. There's a net there to catch you--the Lord's "support", His "love", and His "consolation". If you belong to the Father through Jesus, there is always, always Someone there to catch you.

David was falling, he said. Slipping, anxious, feeling like he was going down. Maybe some feelings you can relate to. And remember this was the one that was called the man after God's own heart. I don't think it's that God was angry with him, but He allowed His man to be pushed right to the breaking point. Now, you have this ironclad guarantee from your Heavenly Father that, though He may allow you to be pushed to the breaking point, He will never allow you to be pushed beyond the breaking point. In God's own words in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear".

Now, God will allow you seasons of desperation because He can do so much with us in our desperate times. Desperation drives us to release all our earth-idols and cling just to Him. Faith grows only when it is stretched, sometimes to the breaking point. But then, in just the last minute, God will bring you the specific encouragement you need--just in time to break your fall. And He knows just what kind of customized encouragement you need for a moment like this.

Because God sometimes waits to bring an answer, it looks to us like an answer isn't coming. Wrong. When that stunt man is falling, oh, it looks like he's headed for a crash when he's actually headed for a net. So are you. That's why you can experience peace when everything you depend on is shaking, hope when everything feels hopeless, buoyancy when it feels like you're sinking. Your Heavenly Father will not let you crash. He is always there to catch you!

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc. Permission to reproduce this material is automatically granted on the condition it will be used for non-commercial purposes, will not be sold, and will be distributed for the sole purpose of expanding the Gospel.

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