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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/2/2008 11:19:06 AM
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joy2give2u
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quote:
problem is that 'guarding one's heart' has been taken to too great an extreme in today's Christian society. Yes, we are not called to throw pearls before the swine. But if we live in a state of fear, where we refuse to love, to let ourselves become even a little bit vulnerable, we have already lost. Thank you so much vikingfan..........you were a word from God today I needed to read...........
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I think most of the hurt we can get in a relationship is not on the end of being afflicted ourselves...but its letting the other person go. We ultimately fear "the break up," and that can be interpreted as "not being caught" But we have to have courage and faith that things will ultimately workout for the best (no matter if he or she is not the one or doesn't fit).
I don't think Abraham feared the breakup with his son, but he went into the experience with courage and faith. And, if he hadn't of done so, he would of missed out on the provided blessing. We also can do the same. Why should we be fearful in taking the jump if we know that God is on our side? We should be courageous, knowing that something good is still going to come out of it all... Great thoughts........I also think most the pain in a relationship comes from past baggage and an unwillingness to be vulnerable..........being vulnerable takes courage........
_____________________________
Transformation happens NOT when we get through scripture BUT when scripture gets through Us
Lake Michigan
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/3/2008 3:46:53 PM
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vikingfan
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You're welcome, joy. I hope my words encouraged others as well.
Ultimately, I believe Satan wants us to be crippled by our past failures and experiences that we are unable to do the work God has planned for us. Look at Gideon. God called him a great warrior, but he was so afraid that he almost didn't fulfill God's call on his life to free his people from the Midianites. Moses was the same...called himself a terrible speaker, etc. This is not to say all fears are bad (some are healthy), but too often, we let ALL fear cripple us. If a guy likes a girl, she likes him, and yet he waits forever out of fear that she MIGHT say no, that's not healthy. Yes, there is a fear that she might say no...but there is also a very real possibility that she might say yes!
With man, everything is impossible. With God, all things are possible.
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/3/2008 6:25:06 PM
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joy2give2u
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quote:
Ultimately, I believe Satan wants us to be crippled by our past failures and experiences that we are unable to do the work God has planned for us. Look at Gideon. God called him a great warrior, but he was so afraid that he almost didn't fulfill God's call on his life to free his people from the Midianites. Moses was the same...called himself a terrible speaker, etc. This is not to say all fears are bad (some are healthy), but too often, we let ALL fear cripple us. If a guy likes a girl, she likes him, and yet he waits forever out of fear that she MIGHT say no, that's not healthy. Yes, there is a fear that she might say no...but there is also a very real possibility that she might say yes!
Two thoughts........sometimes I don't think we recognize fear for what it is often giving it another name.........
And.........sometimes I think we use fear as an excuse because we don't really want to do what God is telling us to do.........
My little niece is an expert at this.
Her eyes get huge, water slightly
Her face innocent with a slight touch of being wounded
Wounded that we would ask her to do such a task
Just before the tears fall
Her little voice.......saddened
Whispers......
But I am afraid to take my toys upstairs........
It is scary up there.
Her little trick might work except for the many trips she made upstairs alone to get the toys she brought downstairs.
I think sometimes we do this with God......probably not intentionally..........but sometimes the fear doesn't stop us from getting to know someone......sometimes the fear is an excuse...........I think with Moses it was an excuse.........actually probably with Gideon as well..........neither wanted to step outside of their comfort zone.
I wonder how often we do use fear as an excuse.........I wonder how often we hesitate in a relationship, believing fear is holding us back, yet when someone who is better looking, more what we think we want, comes along then all of a sudden the fear is not holding us back any longer........
Hmmmmmm just thinking out loud.......
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However, i rather fear if i will be able to maintain (give my all) and somewhat fight for that relationship as it continues on. I didn't do that last time, and "we" kind of dwindled away. Thus, I fear being able to hold on after getting "caught."
An interesting thing I have learned in my life........satan's lies are always based on a reality in our life..........and he uses that reality/ that experience to change a few experiences into always........and we believe him........
My prayer StrongWisdom is you will ask the Lord's forgiveness for believing the lie of satan and begin to see yourself as someone who will be able to not only maintain(give your all) but fight for the relationship God is going to give you.
_____________________________
Transformation happens NOT when we get through scripture BUT when scripture gets through Us
Lake Michigan
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/4/2008 2:58:47 AM
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ebony101
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Interesting story, it gives me a new perspective on failed relationships. But I'm still getting used to God deliberately witholding his arms when we jump from the third step. In some ways I see it, and in some ways I don't.
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'We're writing a gospel, a chapter each day,
By the things that we do & the words that we say.'
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/4/2008 3:08:06 PM
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StrongWisdom
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quote:
My prayer StrongWisdom is you will ask the Lord's forgiveness for believing the lie of satan
I have thought all this time that I was either doubting myself to do this.....or maybe i was practicing sound "wisdom" in not trying to go through this again (i.e., that this is just not for me)...but I have not considered that I've been living according to lies. And, maybe the better wisdom here is to just start living according to the truth, that I can do all things. "I can have a long-term relationship." Now that's a thought that makes me quiver...but at the same time is also the embracement of something new. This may take me awhile to accept though.
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see yourself as someone who will be able to not only maintain(give your all) but fight for the relationship God is going to give you.
You say that pretty strong..."God is going to give you"......do you think God gives us relationships without us even requesting one? (this hasn't been a strong prayer of mine) Does he give us the opportunity...no matter if we may feel that we wouldn't try anyways or feel that we wouldn't carry it out? And, in that sense, does he give these opportunities because he know we can do this?
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/4/2008 11:08:25 PM
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OneJohn410
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Hi Joy,
I think I saw something in the telling that I'd missed, so to recap...
from first stair, son is caught by father.
From 2nd step, son again caught.
from 3rd step, son not caught.
Yep! If the story holds as told, the son is NOT asked to jump from the 3rd step but does anyway. He's only asked to jump from the first two.
I don't think the story speaks to our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
So the question of learning courage from who becomes the question, if indeed courage is being taught. I think the story line has been tweaked away from learning about obedience and pride.
When we are not caught, in this story, there is also no request that we jump from the next level. We are all caught up in the excitement of doing something daring and defeating our own fear.
'Courage is not hard when you know you won't fall.' What is that supposed to mean in this story? The son is falling every time from a height down to his dad. Courage is easier when you know you are following your heart no matter what happens. Peter getting out of the boat and walking on the stormy water while the others stay in the boat.
I have no idea what the dad of the story was trying to prove in not catching his son that last time.
Courage would be jumping by oneself and learning how to safely land unaided, first from the first step, then the second, etc.
In this story, word for word, dad should have tried to catch son or at least break the fall, because dad expected son to try the next step up.
Allegorically, son was not asked to jump from the third step. So dad could well have turned away, or thought his back would kill him the next day to keep this up. We don't know how heavy the son was, or how fit the father was.
So there's really no way to know a fallen relationship exists in the story, only an odd explanation of how courage should be seen in what has happened.
'Is it possible we use our fallen relationships as an excuse to not jump again?' Sure.
'I wonder do we trust God enough that even if he lets us fall we can still jump again?'
Nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. I wonder if we trust God enough that we can hear Him say jump and we be able to jump as high up as we can no matter what is around us to land on. Serving Him is certainly trust and obedience, and some times is playing jump and I'll catch you. Usually though it's not a contest of outperform yourself until you fail, and then be ready to fail again and again, and then be ready to fail even more times the next day.
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For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. -Romans 15:4 (NIV)
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/5/2008 1:40:25 PM
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joy2give2u
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quote:
Nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. True and even in the story the father does not leave the young boy. He is there to gather him in his arms as soon as he falls.
Courage, like love or faith, is a heart condition.
The father would know, would he not, by the son's reaction to him after not being caught the boys heart condition towards his father?
The boy asked why papa while allowing his father to tend his wounds, hold him tight, and speaks words of love to him.
His father knew, by his son's reaction to him, whether the son had learned courage.
There have been times in my life I have fallen on my face, usually because of disobedience, but not always. The same is true with many Christian. A few examples from the bible have already been posted......Even in obedience sometimes we fall on our faces..........
As soon as we are not caught we make a decision.......do we hang onto our faith..... cling to the father or run to another source of comfort?
The decision made in that moment reveals whether courage has been learned or not........
If the boy had gotten up and ran to his mother the father would know his lesson had failed but that didn't happen......instead the boy allowed the father to hold him, tend his wounds, and held him tight through the pain.........at the moment the boy chose to hold unto his father courage was taught.
Jumping from the forth step is our walking out what we learned about ourselves, with God's help, when we fell.
I don't think the courage comes from jumping again..........I think it comes in the healing from the pain..............
I also wonder.........is not fear on the fourth step really a lie from satan?...........
Is it possible he is trying to convince us we don't have the courage to jump when the truth is our courage was displayed when we did not turn away from God and instead turned into His arms?
Another thought.................when a nation, such as Israel, is not caught isn't courage learned by those who stand firm in their faith?.............Daniel for example...........was his courage built when he was place in the lion's den or was courage taught when he was taken into slavery yet chose to remain faithful to the God who had let him be taken captive? Was it in the period of falling flat on his face that courage, the same courage he would use to face the lions den, was learned?
_____________________________
Transformation happens NOT when we get through scripture BUT when scripture gets through Us
Lake Michigan
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/5/2008 2:42:18 PM
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WaitingforBoaz
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I have had a difficult time with this story since I read it.
The Lord tells us to take that leap of faith.....and He catches us. Which feeds our faith, it becomes stronger. We learn to put our trust in Him, because He will never fail us. So, would He then, according to the story, deliberately look us in the face and step aside and let us fall? Not because of disobedience, not because of lack of faith, not because of sin, but to teach courage? I see nothing in scripture that supports that. I am not denying that he allows us to go through painful situations, some of which we did nothing to cause. But to say that He teaches us to trust Him, only so He can deliberately fail us.........I don't know.
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/5/2008 2:55:12 PM
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iwillfearnoevil
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i think there's a difference to consider between God dropping us versus allowing us to fall. there are certainly times when God asks us to do something, where the end result is not what we wished. it certainly might feel as if God dropped us.
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/5/2008 3:14:56 PM
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WaitingforBoaz
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quote:
ORIGINAL: iwillfearnoevil
i think there's a difference to consider between God dropping us versus allowing us to fall. there are certainly times when God asks us to do something, where the end result is not what we wished. it certainly might feel as if God dropped us.
My question would be, did He fail us.......did he turn his back at just the exact moment He could have stepped in and helped us? Or......did we turn from Him? Was it a free will thing, or His will? See, we can endure pain, affliction and sorrow, that He allows as part of His will, but He can be right there every second walking us throught it, IF we turn to Him. I guess my problem is with the analogy, just the thought of jumping towards my Heavenly Father and watching as He takes a step back and watches me crash to the ground, grieves me actually. I just can't see it.
Also, my (fleshly) idea of great end result is great joy and extreme happiness, while God's idea of a great end result is to have me be conformed to the image of Christ. If I am seeking Him daily, it is His end result that I desire.
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/5/2008 3:41:21 PM
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iwillfearnoevil
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i don't know what to make of the analogy, i just have little thoughts now and then such as when Isaas was mentioned so i wasn't trying to rebutt any point or criticize your words ...
i would say no he did not fail us ... there are an infinite number of situations where God could step in and do what we think he should ... save a child from a car accident ... heal a family member from a terminal illness ... i mean he could turn a bullet into foam and save a life, but he often does not change the physical laws of the universe He created to have us avoid a "bad" situation ... and how bad can a situation be, if the end result is us drawing closer to God ... i feel there is a much greater joy arising from growing into an intimate relationship with Him than joy arising from a new car, job promotion, child birth, etc ... i think it's all matter of perspective ... if one is called to missions and ends up being murdered once arrived, maybe their spouse does feel God stepped back and let that person fall ... maybe their perspective changes years later, when they see how many people were led to the Lord from the result of this tragedy ... i think to the person falling, it's easy to think God dropped them or set them up to fail ... unless they continue to walk in His path and ultimately come to that greater joy ... (so yes to answer a question you post, i think God could step in and help us and doesn't always even if we haven't turned his back on Him (ie, Job) ... i don't know that means he is turning his back on us) ...
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/5/2008 3:43:26 PM
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joy2give2u
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quote:
I have had a difficult time with this story since I read it. I had a difficult time when I first read it as well.........then I thought OK what can I gain or learn from the story........Lord what do you want to speak to me through it.
I think of a young Jewish boy sitting on his father's lab as he recounts the story to him.
I think of the historical stories he has probably shared with his son..........how his people were enslaved, killed in concentration camps.........etc.
I wonder how do you explain to your son why a loving good God would allow so many to die for no individual sin............they were not reaping what they had individually sowed......
Then I imagine a little boy, his tears dried, in his father's arm............
I imagine the father explaining to his little boy, he allowed (agreed Ed) him to fall because he saw the bigger picture and knew the height was not high enough for him to hurt himself, he knew the floor was soft enough to break his fall, and he knew though out life there would be times when he would fall. Times when the father would allow him to fall so that he would grow as a man...........
I loved my father very much. He was a wonderful man and a giving father.
At times during my life, my father allowed me to do things he knew would lead to me falling, and he was always there to hold me through the pain and disappointment. I am thankful my father allowed me to fall at times, because it was through those fall that I learned the most about how to face the harder struggles in life.
As children we fall from a very short distance and most often the damage done is superficial with little lasting impact...........
I know the only reason I could get back up from the wounds of my relationship with Ron was because as a child I had learned to fall under the safe protection of my father, and in those times of not being caught I learned I can survive the fall.........and I learned no matter what happens my father, both heavenly and earthly, would always be there to help me pick up the pieces.
A young boy sitting on his fathers lap asking why?
Son if all those people had not fallen to death the land we call our home, Israel, would not be a country.
I wonder if people who had prayed for so long to return the land God had promised them, if they would have freely gone through what they endured during world war 2, if they knew it would lead to an independent Jewish State? I wonder if those who would of said no, after Israel was given back to the Jewish people, might say though the price was high if they had their choice.........no ww2 and no Israel or ww2 and Israel.........how many would chose the first choice?
I believe sometimes God allows us to fall so we have the courage to walk into an even better future.
_____________________________
Transformation happens NOT when we get through scripture BUT when scripture gets through Us
Lake Michigan
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/5/2008 4:31:59 PM
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WaitingforBoaz
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quote:
ORIGINAL: joy2give2u
quote:
I have had a difficult time with this story since I read it. I had a difficult time when I first read it as well.........then I thought OK what can I gain or learn from the story........Lord what do you want to speak to me through it.
I think of a young Jewish boy sitting on his father's lab as he recounts the story to him.
I think of the historical stories he has probably shared with his son..........how his people were enslaved, killed in concentration camps.........etc.
I wonder how do you explain to your son why a loving good God would allow so many to die for no individual sin............they were not reaping what they had individually sowed......
Then I imagine a little boy, his tears dried, in his father's arm............
I imagine the father explaining to his little boy, he allowed (agreed Ed) him to fall because he saw the bigger picture and knew the height was not high enough for him to hurt himself, he knew the floor was soft enough to break his fall, and he knew though out life there would be times when he would fall. Times when the father would allow him to fall so that he would grow as a man...........
I loved my father very much. He was a wonderful man and a giving father.
At times during my life, my father allowed me to do things he knew would lead to me falling, and he was always there to hold me through the pain and disappointment. I am thankful my father allowed me to fall at times, because it was through those fall that I learned the most about how to face the harder struggles in life.
As children we fall from a very short distance and most often the damage done is superficial with little lasting impact...........
I know the only reason I could get back up from the wounds of my relationship with Ron was because as a child I had learned to fall under the safe protection of my father, and in those times of not being caught I learned I can survive the fall.........and I learned no matter what happens my father, both heavenly and earthly, would always be there to help me pick up the pieces.
A young boy sitting on his fathers lap asking why?
Son if all those people had not fallen to death the land we call our home, Israel, would not be a country.
I wonder if people who had prayed for so long to return the land God had promised them, if they would have freely gone through what they endured during world war 2, if they knew it would lead to an independent Jewish State? I wonder if those who would of said no, after Israel was given back to the Jewish people, might say though the price was high if they had their choice.........no ww2 and no Israel or ww2 and Israel.........how many would chose the first choice?
I believe sometimes God allows us to fall so we have the courage to walk into an even better future.
Great story about Israel aside, and not even wanting to sound arguementitive in any way, the story is not about allowing us choices and letting us make a wrong choice in order to learn from it. That I can grasp, BTDT.  The story is about a father deliberately stepping back and letting the child fall, after building trust by catching him every other time. Now, I am assuming that we are just guessing at the meaning of this analogy. Did they give you the meaning when you heard it, or is this thread the results of your ponderings? Because that is what I am doing as well, just pondering the story and trying see if it has some deeper meaning I can apply to my own life. I read a story awhile back, that has a similar theme, It was by Max Lucado here is an excerpt:
I learned alot about trust on a swing. as a child I only trusted certain people to push my swing. If I was being pushed by people I trusted, (like mom or dad) they could do anything they wanted, twist, turn, stop me.....but let a stranger push my swing, and it was hang on baby! Who knew what this newcomer would do. When a stranger pushes your swing, you tense up, ball up and hang on ...................We must remember who is pushing our swing, we must put our trust in Him, we cannot grow fearful, He will not let us tumble out.
The thing about trust is you cannot completely trust someone you do not know. They can be unpredictable. But we can know God, we can know His character in His word. I can jump into his arms, and I can let Him push my swing, because He is trustworthy.
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/7/2008 7:28:40 PM
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joy2give2u
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quote:
not even wanting to sound argumentative in any way Argumentative would imply each person is so focused on pushing their "right" view they don't really contemplate what another is saying........discussion on the other hand is about listening, or in this case, reading what others write, thinking about it, and then posting a response.
Agrumentive discussions rarely benefit anyone except maybe the ego of the one auguring.
Open discussions are when the participates are more interested in growing and learning then worrying about being seen as right or wrong.
I don't read your comments as argumentative at all.
tquote:
he story is not about allowing us choices and letting us make a wrong choice in order to learn from it. That I can grasp, BTDT. The story is about a father deliberately stepping back and letting the child fall, after building trust I think it is not only wrong choices which lead to bad things happening in our lives.........I think we can make the right choice, do exactly what God wants us to do and still bad things can happen to us.
I know in my life I have made many choices in rebellion and out of God's will and he has caught me..........there have also been times where I have done exactly as he asked me and I was not caught..........so I ask myself why? If being caught is not dependent on my choices or rebellion.......it is not based on me jumping when he didn't tell me to jump.........his catching me or not catching me doesn't follow a set formula.....it is not consistent..........what is consistent and does not change is the truth that whether I am caught or not God is always there to help me heal, hold me in his arms and speak truth into the situation.
quote:
I am assuming that we are just guessing at the meaning of this analogy. Did they give you the meaning when you heard it, or is this thread the results of your ponderings I don't think there is just one meaning to the analogy.......I think what each of us gets out of it is dependent on what the Lord wishes to speak to us through it........
No they didn't give me a meaning........but even if they had I would still have pondered it........I tend to believe meaning of things is an individual thing based on what the Holy Spirit wants to speak to us and not so much based on what someone tells me the meaning of something is suppose to be.
She did say the father in the story is God........
You know what I just had a thought........the story could be used as an example of God and his son, Jesus. Being nailed to a cross could seem as though God did not catch Jesus........I mean it is the only time where Jesus was forsaken by God.........yet what happen after the fall.......built courage in men and women who were willing to die for a God who didn't catch his son but gathered him up from the ground..........hmmmmm just a thought.......I need to think more on this one.
quote:
The story is about a father deliberately stepping back and letting the child fall, after building trust Or is a story about God deliberately stepping back and letting his child(ren) fall, after building trust, so they will learn to trust even when it seems he has allowed them to fall.......
Again I think of the Jewish people........as well as stories of when God did step back and leave his people for a time or period.........
I think of what Ed wrote and the times I have trusted God to work in a situation only, to be walking in obedience, trusting him to do those things he promises and he doesn't seem to come through.......
I think of how he is there with me as I struggle to understand they whys......to accept that God had let me fall...........then for years later to look back and thank the Lord for letting me fall then so that I would not fall now.
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Transformation happens NOT when we get through scripture BUT when scripture gets through Us
Lake Michigan
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/8/2008 1:29:38 PM
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John_O
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quote:
ORIGINAL: joy2give2u
I know in my life I have made many choices in rebellion and out of God's will and he has caught me..........there have also been times where I have done exactly as he asked me and I was not caught..........
How do you know you were not caught? Perhaps if He had not caught you the results would have been much much worse?
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Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/8/2008 1:46:20 PM
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joy2give2u
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quote:
How do you know you were not caught? Perhaps if He had not caught you the results would have been much much worse? Because I felt the hard coldness of the ground as I hit.........
I am wondering why falling is seen as a really bad thing? I guess I don't see it as a negative as some do in the thread.......
To me falling on your bottom is a part of life..........
When I learned to ice skate I feel just as the girls do now.........sometimes they fall even though I try to catch them...........and we laugh together as they get back up.
I think sometimes when God has allowed me to fall it has lead to laughter shared between he and I.
There are worse things in life then falling....
Great now I have the song from Grease in my mind..........
But instead of hearing there are worse things that I do then be with a man or two I hear there are worse things I could do then fall a time or two.
_____________________________
Transformation happens NOT when we get through scripture BUT when scripture gets through Us
Lake Michigan
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/8/2008 2:15:10 PM
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WaitingforBoaz
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ORIGINAL: joy2give2u
quote:
he story is not about allowing us choices and letting us make a wrong choice in order to learn from it. That I can grasp, BTDT. The story is about a father deliberately stepping back and letting the child fall, after building trust
quote:
I think it is not only wrong choices which lead to bad things happening in our lives.........I think we can make the right choice, do exactly what God wants us to do and still bad things can happen to us.
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I know in my life I have made many choices in rebellion and out of God's will and he has caught me..........there have also been times where I have done exactly as he asked me and I was not caught..........so I ask myself why? If being caught is not dependent on my choices or rebellion.......it is not based on me jumping when he didn't tell me to jump.........his catching me or not catching me doesn't follow a set formula.....it is not consistent..........what is consistent and does not change is the truth that whether I am caught or not God is always there to help me heal, hold me in his arms and speak truth into the situation.
Bad things happen, because we live in a fallen world, and because God allows things to happen in our lives, that will conform us to the image of His Son.
He allows bad things to happen to even His obedient children, however, I do not believe that he builds trust, as in the story, and then steps back and deliberately does not catch us. God is the same yesterday today and forever. He is predictible, in that He will not go against His own Word.
I am curious when, in your life, He did not catch you. This has never happened to me.
This may turn out to be a semantics thing, but it is very important to me to get this straight, because there may be many like me who did not fully understand the "Father Heart of God". I was able to embrace the Son fully, and I was thankful for the Holy Spirits guidance and comfort, but when people mentioned the Father, Abba, I felt no connection to that aspect of God, until a few years ago, and I have walked with the Lord for over 25 years. So the "character" of the Father is a huge thing with me.
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The story is about a father deliberately stepping back and letting the child fall, after building trust
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Or is a story about God deliberately stepping back and letting his child(ren) fall, after building trust, so they will learn to trust even when it seems he has allowed them to fall.......
I am not sure how this would build trust.
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Again I think of the Jewish people........as well as stories of when God did step back and leave his people for a time or period.........
Yes, He left them when they were disobedient, rebellious or turned to other gods. Job was righteous, however The Lord did not let him fall, He was teaching him about Himself.
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I think of how he is there with me as I struggle to understand they whys......to accept that God had let me fall...........then for years later to look back and thank the Lord for letting me fall then so that I would not fall now.
Do you have examples of this?
How would you know if you would fall now or not? You would have no choice in the matter. In the story the jumper did not know his father was going to choose not to catch him that time. It was unpredictable....totally out of Gods character IMO.
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/8/2008 2:53:29 PM
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John_O
Posts: 8028
Joined: 9/5/2006
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ORIGINAL: joy2give2u
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How do you know you were not caught? Perhaps if He had not caught you the results would have been much much worse? Because I felt the hard coldness of the ground as I hit.........
I am wondering why falling is seen as a really bad thing? I guess I don't see it as a negative as some do in the thread.......
To me falling on your bottom is a part of life..........
Or perhaps you fell to the cold hard ground just below you instead of being let walk off a 1000 foot high cliff and falling to your death?
The thing is, we can never tell what troubles, dangers and damages, God has saved us from by letting (or making) us fall now. So it's not that He doesn't catch us, it's that in some circumstances He makes us to fall where we are safest .
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Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/8/2008 3:24:08 PM
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joy2give2u
Posts: 5124
Joined: 9/19/2006
From: Indiana
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The thing is, we can never tell what troubles, dangers and damages, God has saved us from by letting (or making) us fall now. So it's not that He doesn't catch us, it's that in some circumstances He makes us to fall where we are safest I agree completely.......he lets us fall because he knows the fall, though it might be a tab bit painful, will not break us...........
I think the thing which is mulling round my mind the most by the comments in regard to the story is the lesson of courage............I can't seem to understand how courage can be taught unless one is allowed to fall............
I think of the men of the Alamo.........they were not men of courage because they thought they were invincible or because they believed troops were coming to help them........they were courageous because they stepped over a line hoping reinforcements would come and they could hold the fort from Santa Anna........while knowing the fort would probably would fall along with the men who chose to fight.
I remember reading excerpts from Travis journal when I was visiting...........at he writes a letter addressed to the people of Texas and the World...........he tells of their situation and pleds for help..........
He ends the letter with this P.S. "The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 to 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves"
God was not catching them nor did he........but he was there with them through out the fall and probably gathered them in His arms to take to heaven.
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Transformation happens NOT when we get through scripture BUT when scripture gets through Us
Lake Michigan
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/8/2008 3:27:22 PM
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joy2give2u
Posts: 5124
Joined: 9/19/2006
From: Indiana
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Hey WaitingforBoaz........I wrote you a reply to your post, replied to John_O's and just noticed the other one did to go through.
When I have a little time I will rewrite it.........unless the conversation has changed since then.
I was wondering do you believe a person never falls in a relationship as well unless they are in disobedience or rebellion?
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Transformation happens NOT when we get through scripture BUT when scripture gets through Us
Lake Michigan
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/8/2008 3:28:56 PM
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jesuschick247
Posts: 2886
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I agree completely.......he lets us fall because he knows the fall, though it might be a tab bit painful, will not break us...........
I think the thing which is mulling round my mind the most by the comments in regard to the story is the lesson of courage............I can't seem to understand how courage can be taught unless one is allowed to fall............
Joy, this is so true! This last summer was so hard for me, there were times when the fall felt like it was ripping the heart out of my chest...I didn't understand why it was happening at the time...it felt like I was breaking. Now though, I see that it taught me courage, it taught me to trust when I can't see, even if that trust in God is blind and you stumble. It taught me to have courage and that when you really, truly love someone or something, you don't give up on it just because it's hard or it hurts...
You learn that the best "fall" you can take is to get on your knees and pour your heart and soul before the ONLY ONE who can truly take these falls we have and turn them into a wonderful and beautiful masterpiece...in His time though...not ours!
Just thought I'd share that...
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"The memories erased...Baby, that's the BEAUTY of GRACE!"
"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, rather than a second-rate version of someone else." - Judy Garland
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RE: A love story? or not? - 12/8/2008 5:09:09 PM
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Thus, I fear being able to hold on after getting "caught."
