This week as I thought about Falling Forward, so many thoughts come to mind. The idea of falling is never welcomed. It is often embarrassing, awkward, and sometimes painful. Through the falling something always unintentionally happens. We move forward, as our bodies have a natural design to move in the forward motion. Whether it means that we move forward in our thinking, of how we could have prevented the fall, or avoided the thing that caused us to fall; these are all progressive in nature and therefore lean you in the overall direction of FORWARD.
Thinking of my time doing track, I tried a lot of things...the long jump was one of them. There are pictures somewhere out in the world of me attempting to perfect the craft of running as fast as I could, then doing what looks like an awkward, manufactured, trip-skip-jump that looks like a LONG FALL. The only difference is that when you fall, you have to place your body in such a way, that whatever lands first, is as far away from the line of measurement as possible. Because in that event- that is the 'bottom line', the line that determines whether you win or lose.
In life most people try their best to avoid tripping, stumbling, falling or failing forward in front of others. The ironic thing is God designed our bodies, knowing that falling was a possibility. He made intentional plans in His design of the human body to protect the most vital organs with rib cages, skulls, and hands and arms to take the brunt of the blow to the ground. This possibility was never meant to scare you into avoiding walking or running, or taking daily risks, this is a part of your life's plan. God has set up a safety to assist in the case of life's imbalances.
So should you find yourself falling, don't despise the position you find yourself in, instead renew your mind to see it how God sees it. It is but a moment in time, a reset, a neutral position to help you learn and regain your balance. The ground is stable and you can't go any lower. This is the very space that God needs to elevate you. He sees it as a table to serve a prepared feast, in the presence of your enemies. A table to birth a new and exciting adventure, out of a season of grief. A table to sacrifice things that have been taking up mental and emotional real estate, idolizing themselves over God sitting on the throne of your heart.
To the young Elisah's parents, burning the oxen and the plow to chase behind a "God Said-Assignment", may have seemed like a setup for falling face-forward into failure. However, through the eyes of faith in the one who said it, it was simply a season of reset, the pulling back of a sling-shot, to propel you FORWARD.