God ahead – jump! 

‘Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.' Proverbs 24:16 NIV

One day a young man sat on a park bench watching a squirrel in a tree. It was aiming for a branch so high above that it looked like a leap of suicide. Suddenly it jumped, missed and landed on a branch several feet lower down. Immediately, it steadied itself and got ready to jump again. An old man sitting on the same bench said to him, ‘Funny, I’ve seen hundreds of ‘em jump like that, even with dogs barking at them from the ground. And a lot of them miss. But I’ve never seen one get hurt trying.’ Then he added, ‘I guess they must think it’s better to take a risk than spend your whole life where you don’t want to be.’ What are you aiming for? Does it seem out of your reach? Do you have less nerve than a squirrel? Go ahead, use your faith, take the leap; God will catch you if you fall! Otherwise, where you are today is as far as you’re ever going to get. Look at Moses: an interrupted childhood, a foster family, a violent temper, a stammering tongue and a criminal record. What a CV! He could have given up before he even started! Yet God used him to lead the greatest migration of people in the history of the world. Peter sinks trying to walk on water and denies his Lord yet he becomes head of the New Testament church. Failing does not make you a failure – quitting does. Get up and try again. Next time, with God’s help, you’ll make it!

Prayer Point:

Lord, help me to overcome my fear of failure, bring me to a place where my life is in line with Your will and give me the confidence to step out in faith when I need to. When I worry about the future, help me to be bold and trust in Your promises for my life. Let the words of my mouth be uplifting and focussed on a bright future, in Jesus’ name.