One of the hardest things for a Christian to attain to is the victorious Christian life. It seems that every time we get to the top of the mountain and glimpse the wondrous view we trip and wind up at the bottom again. We are often left to wonder why we fail so often. It seems the harder we try the less we succeed.

The Apostle Paul was no stranger to this. He wrote in his letter to the Romans: "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me." (Romans 7:15-21)

David, in writing verse 13 above reveals something that many may not be aware of. God has delivered David's soul but David is having trouble in the flesh. Keeping our faith focused and centered on God is easier said than done. Whether we are in danger, as David was when he wrote this, or whether we are just facing daily stress and the trouble that comes with this fast paced world we live in we want God to keep us from failing.

We cry out to God many times and ask Him to hold our hand as we cannot walk the road ahead alone. Many times God will do this but sometimes He will let go of our hand and tell us "child, you are going to have to take some of these steps on your own." We feel let down when God does this but we need to be mindful of how we trained our children to walk. We would get them started and then let go of their hand as they took a few wobbly steps. We would catch them when they started down and from this they gained confidence. Soon however, we let go of their hand and let them get far enough away that we could not keep them from falling. We would pick them up and kiss away any tears that might have resulted but we knew we had to let go of their hand again. Soon they were able to walk with confidence and we only picked them up when they hurt. We found out that learning to get up on your own was part of life.

God will only do so much for us. As we mature as Christians we should realize that what we can do for self, in the realm of service, God expects us to do. Working for Him, witnessing for Him, forming good habits such as Bible reading, Church attendance, prayer time and just meditating on and communing with Him are things we can do for self. If we will do these then we should not have to ask God to keep us from falling quite so often.

God will be a lamp unto our feet and he will light the path ahead (Psalm 119:105) but He expects us to avoid what will trip us up after He has illuminated the hazard for us to see.

This Bible Study is presented by Dwight Rhodes .