1778 You Too Could Slip

BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

This past Friday, something incredibly simple and yet wildly dangerous happened to me. For two days, I’ve been licking my wounds and reliving it all in slow motion … but this morning, God gave me the revelation to share with you.

The lesson: Be careful, you may fall here. And if you fall here, where will you slip next … that’s where the danger is.

I currently live in the Florida Keys with my husband, Tank our 130 pound yellow lab, and our 2 year old grandson Maverick. Maverick has a deep passion for throwing rocks into the ocean. Tank has a deep passion for swimming in the ocean and I have a deep passion for just being by the water, so it all works out perfectly.

This past Friday was the most gloriously sunny and warm day, so I was out at the water with Tank and Maverick. Our neighborhood has a small park and boat ramp where we often play in the sunshine. Maverick was standing at the very edge of the water on the ramp, as he always does, throwing rocks. I was only a few feet away watching. Maverick slipped and gracefully just plopped down in very shallow water. But within seconds, he began to slide. As he slid, he rolled, and soon, he was in danger. I stepped onto the ramp to grab him, but my feet hit solid moss and I went down … hard. There wasn’t an ounce of grace in the move I made.

The more I tried to reach for Maverick, the deeper I slid on the mossy ramp. He was all the way under, I was up to my neck and time was moving in slow motion. Finally, I reached him and he had held his breath instead of sucking in salty sea water. He was fine. We were fine. Until we weren’t.

I couldn’t get us back up the mossy ramp. I continued to slip in the wrong direction until we were floating under the wooden dock.

Now I don’t know how long you’ve been listening to this podcast, so I don’t know if you’ve heard my other stories about the hidden dangers of the docks in our canals, but my neighborhood is home to several very large crocodiles. One of which I’ve named Gnarley because he likes to sunbathe on my neighbor’s dock with his mouth wide open as if to show me my hips can fit through his jaws. People play and swim in the water all the time … you just don’t dare go under the docks.

And here Maverick and I were … under the dang dock where we never intended to be.

It all ended well and I thanked Jesus as I limped all the way home that day. Maverick is still repeating, “Be careful by the water, Franny. Be careful by the water.”

Now, I realize the tide was incredibly low that day, and although we have stood on that ramp dozens of times throwing rocks with no problems, that day was different. That day the low water had us standing in danger without knowing it. The moss that is typically under water was right at the edge and we were standing on it.

And once we slipped, we ended up where the real danger is.

So, where have you and I been playing around that isn’t safe? It’s not safe because if we slip here, it takes us to where the real danger is.

Do you see what God is trying to show us? It’s easy to say, “There’s no harm in doing what I’m doing here”, and maybe that’s true. But my sister, if you slip here, where do you end up? THAT’S DANGEROUS.

1 Corinthians 10:12, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.”

How foolish it is to assume you could never fall, you could never screw this up, you could never slip. Oh you could … and it could be disastrous. Let us not be so arrogant to assume we couldn’t fall. Girl, you could absolutely face plant here. You could make a total fool of yourself here. Only by the grace of God are you standing!

And if you fall here … what happens next. What do you unknowingly slip right into? You never slip anywhere good. Slipping always takes you to danger. Slipping leads to dark places under wooden docks where crocodiles like to hide. Slipping takes you to enemy territory. Slipping will leave you wandering around lost in a land you were never supposed to get stuck in.

And every single one of us can slip. One minute you’re standing strong, but when the tide changes so does the ramp, be careful not to fall.

Moses knew about slipping people. Moses was the leader of the Israelites. He had led them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. God had equipped Moses to lead the people on a victorious path through every battle and hardship on their way to the land God had promised them. Seas had parted. Ways were made. Food had miraculously fallen from the sky. Everything they had needed had been provided. They literally had proof of God’s power at work to guide them.

But when they faced the next big obstacle, they slipped.

They slipped into fear. They slipped into overwhelm. They slipped into settling for where they were over where God was taking them.

When they heard about the enemies they would have to overtake to step into the land God had promised them, they decided it was too hard. They forfeited the promise God had for them. It was a land better than their wildest dreams. A life they couldn’t even imagine. But they fell before they got there. And when they fell, they slipped into a life far below their potential.

For 40 years, they wandered around in the wilderness, falling short of the fulfillment of God’s promise. Fear held them. The unknown terrified them. (Hmmmm … sound familiar? You’ve been so afraid to face that hard thing that you’ve opted to settle for less. And here in the “less than”, your whole life has been slipping.)

Now, after 38 years, Moses speaks to his people before he dies. The time has come for them to try again. It was time for this new generation to remember God’s power and respond in faith. It was time for them to leave their wilderness and move toward their promise. And Moses says to them in Deuteronomy 4:9 TPT, “Only be on guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.”

If they remembered what they had seen God do before, they would have the courage to believe what God was going to do next. If they remembered all the ways God had provided for them before, they would believe in his provision to come. Fear wouldn’t hold them back if they remembered. How do you remember … you keep talking about it!

And my sister, if you will remember how God has gotten you through every time before, you wouldn’t be held by fear here. What’s your testimony? Are you still telling it?

Or did you hit a little moss and fall? And once you fell, you seem to have forgotten. And now you’ve just slipped. Slipped into bad habits and poor thoughts. Slipped into playing little and assuming the worst.

God wants to help you back up now. God says in Isaiah 41:10, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

If you have fallen, God wants to help you up before you slip further. Girl, ACCEPT THE HELP TO GET UP! God never slips!

God wants to give you the courage to make a different decision. He has special strength available for you to help you change. If you will fully surrender your heart and mind to him, he will change your desires so that you no longer want what has been hurting you. Did you know God can do that? He can literally change your desires so the toxic thing you think you just can’t give up becomes the very last thing you would ever want again.

His hand is outstretched for you.

He doesn’t want his girl slipping further and further.

Be careful, you may fall here. And if you fall here, where will you slip next … that’s where the danger is. To keep from falling, remember all God has done before. Find strength and courage in focusing on his power and his promises. Take his hand that will lead you to victory!

If where you’re standing is on the edge of danger, it’s time to step away now because you don’t want to slip into that!

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