Episode #135 When You’re Losing It – God’s Love for You is Steadfast

Hey friends, one of the times that I know I need God's steadfast love the most is when I'm losing it.

Sometimes it just feels like the world is shifting and crumbling underneath my feet. And that can be in really big life changing seasons, or that can be in a few small moments when my kids are just getting under my skin or I realize that I've made some mistake that I'm now trying to reconcile.

No matter what that is, God's love for us is steadfast and that includes when our feet are slipping out from underneath us. I'm reading for us today, a few verses from Psalm 94 and this is verses 17 through 19 in the New Living Translation, just for fun, it says,

“Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.

I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.” (Psalm 94:17-19 NLT)

I don't know what circumstances you're navigating today, but if it feels like your feet are slipping let this passage give you hope. The Psalms don't tell us which psalmist penned Psalm 94. But they're talking about some significant circumstances here.

I would have died.

I cried out, I am slipping, but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.

I can think of a lot of circumstances in my life where that was true.

I can think of health scares for me and my children.

I can think of pivotal changes where we really needed God to intervene.

I can also think of just difficult days of times when I needed God to help me regain my composure. Where I needed him to help me harness my emotion. Where I needed him to help me respond well to my children. And times when I needed comfort and renewed hope and cheer.

Reading this passage, it also reminded me of a tangible example from a recent family trip. Some months back we went to Hawaii. And there was one day when Jared and I got to venture out on our own and explore what I'll call a “hiking trail.” And I say that term loosely here because there were warning signs all over the place that it was closed, it was dangerous, it was not a trail that was recommended to be used. And fairly early on into our hike, we came up against a cliff where you needed to climb the rocks on the cliff, and there was a smallish, somewhat questionably sturdy rope that was tied to something above us, to help us navigate up the cliffside. So I'm fairly agile. I'm navigating up this rope and I get up to the top of this cliff and so as I glance back over my shoulder, I can see, oh, this is a beautiful vantage point. But as I look forward toward where to go next, I can't figure out where to go.

It had rained several days, in the week prior to us taking this hike and my feet were slipping. I saw mud everywhere. Initially I couldn't even see a place to grab onto something to pull myself up past the edge of the cliff. And the rope stopped right next to me.

I wasn't sure what to do.

I hollered down to Jared, “don't come up here!” And I found a way to at least get up on top of the cliff to then turn around and try to start figuring out how to get down.

Now, I'm going to be honest, I was scared. And I couldn't see a clear path down this fairly steep cliffside. I even wondered at one point, am I going to need to call for rescue? Are we going to end up on the news because some rescue team had to climb up here and get us down?

Now it wasn't at the place of being afraid for my life, but I definitely was concerned about our safety. So I called out to the Lord. I was like, “Hey, we shouldn't have done this, God. Help us.” I asked God in his steadfast love to help me because my feet were slipping and in his unfailing love, he supported me.

I started edging down the rocks welcoming any mud that was necessary at this point. It was an adventure that I probably wouldn't try attempting exactly that way again. But I made it down. I'm grateful that God protected us, that Jared and I made it back to our family, that it didn't mess with our health or the rest of our vacation.

And I'm grateful for this tangible reminder of God's steadfast love.

Sometimes we face dire circumstances unless the Lord helps us, unless God intervenes. And sometimes it's simply that doubts are filling our mind. It's that we can feel our feet slipping out from underneath us.

And so whether or not you're facing dire circumstances or doubting ones—whether this is a prolonged season or simply in this moment, you need God to steady your feet—know that his steadfast love is here for you. That he does not waver in his care. That he is loyal toward you, and he extends mercy and grace to help you in this moment of need.

So we're asking him for his steadfast love. We want to receive that from him today, and we're going to ask him to show us what that means.

God, my feet are slipping. I need your steadfast love. What support are you offering me right now?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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