Aftermath: Coming Down The MountainSample

Lean

When I was in eighth grade, I was part of an advanced Earth Science class (I know, cool, right?). 

For the end of the unit on geology, we took a day trip to a mountain on the US/Mexico border called Mount Signal. It’s rumored that drug smugglers carved tunnels in the mountain during the ‘50s, and that it’s still a pretty dangerous place today. The day was going pretty well until it was time to leave. 

After identifying rocks for a couple hours, we started to make our way back down the mountain. And that’s when it happened. My foot slipped on a loose rock and my awkwardly long 13 year old body lurched forward as my momentum pulled me down the mountain, faster and faster. In these situations you’re supposed to lean backward (or so I was told later), but I didn’t know that so I instinctively leaned into the fall. By the time I reached the bottom, I was at an uncontrolled sprint, running so fast that when I finally face planted onto the rocks below, my feet flew up above my head. My classmates said it was the most majestic thing they’d ever seen.

I didn’t enjoy it quite so much. 

Ironically, all of this could have been avoided with one simple piece of knowledge: lean back. 

Life is like that. Sometimes it’s the little things that keep us from falling faster and faster toward destruction. Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians to be humble and careful, so we don’t slip. 

Temptation will come. It always does. So be intentional about where you place your feet. Rest on the work of the Spirit in your life and the words spoken in God’s Holy Bible. When temptation comes, lean back.

Challenge: 

1. What areas are most slippery for you? Hanging out with a certain boy or girl? Browsing the internet late at night? Be humble and be careful. 
2. What can you do to help friends keep from slipping? Hold each other accountable. 
3. PRAY: God, help me to walk with intention, and to continually lean back into your word. Don’t let me slip, but when I do, restore me quickly.