Pressing On

It has been an incredible year in the Muich house. This past March we welcomed our baby girl, Harper, into the world and the days since then have been filled with both blessings and challenges. It has been pure joy to watch her discover and learn new things. And for a baby practically everything is new. Right now she’s on the verge of walking. Have you ever seen an infant try to walk? There’s a lot of falling down involved in the process... a lot! Sometimes it takes a second or two for her to realize that something even happened. But when she finally realizes that she’s fallen... that she was standing and is now lying on the floor... the crying begins. And she looks around for me or her mom, for someone to acknowledge her pain and to comfort her. So when we hear her cry, we come to her. We pick her up and place her back on her feet.

No one likes to fall, yet we all do from time to time. And when we do, it is so comforting to know that we have a heavenly Father who is waiting with open arms to catch us or pick us back up again. But what happens when we’re pushed down or jump? The fall can be quite embarrassing and can sometimes cause damage, leaving wounds that last for years. What we thought was a sure thing turned out to be misleading or what we had hoped would fill us up has left us empty.

This is where pressing on and holding tightly to faith are important. We can’t quit after the first fall. We have to get back up again. Although my daughter may cry for a bit after the initial fall, she quickly forgets about it and tries again. The devil wants us to believe we are all failures and that Jesus can’t use broken people. We’ll let me tell you something... He can! He does! Our God is a God of second chances and He loves a good “underdog” story. Our job is to recognize God’s grace, for in doing so, we will come to see that it is given freely and often. There is this great verse in Hosea that speaks of this idea: “Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth...” (Hosea 6:3). I love the picture this passage paints. When we seek God, we’ll find Him... when we fall down, He’ll come to pick us up.

I don’t know how your 2011 was. Maybe it was a good year, maybe it was a bad year. Maybe it was one filled with joy and happiness or maybe it was one filled with challenges and heartache. Whatever it was, know that our God, the God of second chances, fresh starts, and new beginnings, is there for you... watching over you... ready to catch you when you fall. Make this New Year one filled with that knowledge and find comfort in God’s grace. Keep pressing on. Press on towards the amazing things Jesus has in store for you. Press on even when you feel your fall was too far and your landing too painful. Acknowledge Jesus in the midst of your pain, and he will meet you there. We’re not perfect people. We need help sometimes. My prayer is that we would press on, deeper into Christ’s love, each and every day, that we would forget the past and strain towards what lies ahead. Happy New Year!