Ups And Downs- Remember To Keep Moving Forward!

What should we do when we fall down? Janis reminds us that life has it ups and downs, but that God always has a plan for us!

Snakes And Ladders 

When I visited the family of our youngest daughter at Christmas I loved to play with my grandchildren. I like watching them learn and listen to what they say.

One day my 4 year old grandson and I played a game called Snakes and Ladders. It’s a board game where we roll the dice and count the squares. There are places that you land that might send you up a ladder or down a snake. Some are big jumps or falls, some are little.

It’s a great game for counting to 100. My grandson is very good at counting and following the squares. But he doesn’t like losing. One time he went down a long snake. He looked at me and said, “Sometimes I have to go down so I can go up.” And on the next turn, sure enough he went up a ladder.

His statement is very true of life. We think we must always travel the predictable road. That is not always the case. We don’t know when we’ll land on a snake or a ladder. But we always have to keep moving forward even when we have fallen down a snake.

Stick It Out

There are many Bible verses to help us remember this analogy.

Listen to Hebrews 10:32-36 in The Message.

“Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.”

Hebrews 10:32-36

Stick it out. What great words. Let’s continue to stick it out.

God Will Supply Our Needs

Listen to Colossians 1:10 in The Message

“As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives.” 

Colossians 1:10

Once again we hear the words –  stick it out.

We know that God will supply our every need. And whether we are on the road going down a snake or going up a ladder we need to remember this.

And God allows us to go down that snake for a reason. If we can trust in Him on the way down He will help us find the smooth road again and there may be a ladder in our future.

The Ups And Downs On Life’s Road

Remember Philippians 4:8 on this life’s road:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Philippians 4:8

And do it all in the name of Jesus. Have a blessed day.

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