Life can be a slippery slope. One moment you are on top of the world, and without even a warning, some bad circumstance, turn of events, even disaster hits. Turning your world upside down. I was sitting by the pool recently watching the leaves circulate. Our drain is in one corner and it leads to a basket to catch all the debris. What hit me was this. The leaves are floating along on the top of the water, seemingly without a care in the world. Then, suddenly, they are sucked into the drain and captured. It made me think of this as it relates to us.
Reflect back recently or even earlier in your week or month? Have things entered into your peaceful existence that caused a problem, upsetting your day? I can think of plenty. Scripture tells us this—“Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (I Pet. 5.8). Just like the pool drain devoured the leaves, so are we a target each moment of life. And don’t be naïve. “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (I Cor. 10.12).
Even as early as the Garden with the first children, God warns Cain, and now us, to be alert. God told him—”and if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door” (Gen. 4.6b). So with us. Sin can raise its ugly head without a moment’s notice. We have three enemies, each equally capable of dragging us down. Our fallen flesh, the world and its trappings and Satan with his corps of fallen angels. Cain had anger in his heart, really against God, for not accepting his offering, so he killed his brother. See how quickly things can change?
Unlike the leaf, we have an Advocate, the Spirit, who forewarns us or strengthens us when we get entrapped. He is the Spirit of truth. God’s word is truth. The Psalmist writes—”Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. Why do we need that? Because “the wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts” (Psa. 119.105,110). Our walk in life should be in the light of God’s word. It’s a lamp and light to our feet and along our path. We go where our feet take us. But it is our mind and heart that directs our feet to take us there. So, our heart and mind should be saturated with God’s word that allows us to be led by his Spirit. He knows where every ‘drain’ is located.
It’s like when I played The Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. I had a great caddy, also named Bill. There are many fairway traps that are not visible from the tee. He would let me line up for the drive, and most times he and the other caddies would start laughing. He would stop me and direct me to a spot I should be aiming. All day long, I never was in any of the pot bunkers. And for me, I scored well. He had kept me from the traps, and extra shots.
That’s part of the Spirit’s work in our lives. The Psalmist is so right. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright” (Psa. 20.7,8). Stand or fall? Depends on who you are trusting.