Saved by Falling?
"Anxious, but still not panicked, he began to backtrack, but slipped and fell on
the rock scree. Stumbling, he fell again. Far from hurting him, the falls might
have saved his life because they woke him up to the seriousness of his
situation," (Field & Stream, Feb., 2007, p.#52).
This excerpt is from the Field & Stream cover story about Bill Helfferich, as
told by Keith McCafferty. Last October (2006), Helfferich went into the Idaho
White Cloud Mountains on an elk hunt for the day. He didn't come out until
almost a week later, "and if it weren't for his level head and remarkable
survival skills, he probably wouldn't have come out at all." When the lost
hunter fell, he considered that stumbling to be helpful, in alerting him to the
seriousness of his lost condition.
It should never be your purpose to fall, to sin or fail. Your resolve should be
aimed at walking upright with God every day and moving closer to Him.
"Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election
sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble," (1 Pet. 1:10).
If you do fall, that can become your moment of alert. The fall tells you that
you are in trouble. The fall can cause you to soberly assess location and
execute a better plan, seek help, do better. Someone has said, the failure is
not in falling but in staying down.
"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall," (1 Cor. 10:12).
By Warren E. Berkley
From Expository Files 14.3; March 2007
