Going Up a Down Escalator

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Graeme Wilson in Victory Call

When I was younger, I always wanted to challenge myself to see if I could run all the way up a “down” escalator. I saw it done in TV shows, so I always wanted to try. I never did, though (I was never allowed to), so I still don’t know if I could beat the challenge… but I’ll admit it, I still want to try.
I used to think living the Christian life was somewhat like going up a “down” escalator. I would try really hard to be “good enough” or “strong enough” to climb my way to God, but I would always come up short and eventually I would find myself slipping back down. I would try to rise above all the “bad” in my life or in the world –  sins, sickness, hardships, etc, but it would always be a struggle. I would always find myself feeling guilty or feeling like I wasn’t good enough.
The truth is… believers shouldn’t feel like that. If we rely on our own strength, we will always find ourselves trying to crawl to the top and stay there, but we will fail every time (much like going up a down escalator.) We need to rely on the Lord’s strength in all situations, because His divine strength is so much greater than our human strength.
 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  2 Corinthians 12:19
 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.  Isaiah 40:29
 Find yourself struggling with sickness? Rely on the Lord! Wrestling with sin? You can’t overcome it by your own strength. Struggling with anxiety? The Lord wants to free you from that. Worried about finances? Trust the Lord’s provision! Worried about persecution? Jesus Himself understands that and has gone through it, He will strengthen you.  
 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”  Jeremiah 17:5-9
 Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7
 The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble  Psalm 9:9
Here’s the good news. When we try to overcome things ourselves and come up short, the Lord is always right there. We can always fall at His feet and give it to Him, and He takes pleasure in that… even if we took a little longer than we needed to.
Erin Culleny serves as a Marketing Assistant and Staff Writer. She loves encouraging women through her Victory Calls and finds such joy in praying for her sisters in Christ. Her favorite activities include reading her Bible, encouraging others with scripture, buying new dresses, and eating at the Cheesecake Factory… In that order!