What do step ladders and Christian growth have in common? I didn’t know either until the Lord showed me a picture. Imagine our Christian walk is similar to standing on the middle step of a ladder. We’ve been there for a while and become comfortable spiritually. Life is going reasonably well.
Then, unexpectedly, something not so wonderful happens. An illness, failing a class, losing a dear friend, or a financial blow. It takes us by surprise. All of sudden it feels like the rug has been pulled out from under us, or like the step we are standing on has been shattered.
When the step we are on breaks, we have three choices. The first is to step up the ladder and draw closer to God. Trust Him when the crisis doesn’t make sense. Hold on to Him and ride out the storm. Remain faithful to Him and pray it through.
Or, we can fall back to a lower step. Instead of growing spiritually, we spend less time with God and turn to things that will get us through this mess: like overeating, spending more time on the Internet, and/or watching more videos or TV.
The third option is to jump off the ladder. If we allow ourselves to become bitter and angry at God because of the crisis, it’s like bailing out on our faith, or jumping completely off the path to spiritual maturity.
Having this picture in mind has helped me many times to avoid the very human tendency to bail out or hide out. When each crisis comes, I have to remind myself that I can trust God in all circumstances even when I don’t understand why or how the crisis happened. It’s not easy. But we cannot stay in the same place in life and grow spiritually. Standing still eventually becomes back sliding. We need to keep moving upward if we are to continue growing closer to God.
At some point in my life I have tried each of the three options. I have never regretted stepping up the ladder, but I have always regretted choosing the other two options. There are awesome things to see and learn on the next step up, if we will just hang on and seek Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. It’s not easy, but it is rewarding.
Are things going haywire in your life right now? Which choice will you make?