TIM-BERRR!

Numbers 21:4-7
4 The people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" 6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

1 Corinthians 10:9,11-12
9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

My sister, her husband, and their two little kids huddled inside their boarded-up home for 3 days as Hurricane Frances roared across Florida. Thankfully, all they suffered was a slight case of cabin fever.

The neighborhood came through okay, except for some branches and palm fronds scattered around. There was some concern about trees being knocked over or ripped from the ground. But they were all still standing when the winds died down--except for the biggest tree in the neighborhood. The tree everyone expected to survive the storm ended up lying flat on the ground.

The same can happen to people when they get a little full of themselves and impressed with their own strength. Back when God's people were wandering around in the desert, they thought they were standing on such firm ground with God that they could get away with complaining and mouthing off to Moses. God said, "Enough!" And many of them paid for their behavior by experiencing a close encounter with venomous snakes and death (Numbers 21:6).

Old Testament stories like this one can be interesting and fun to read, but they also serve a valuable purpose for us today. Paul used several stories from Scripture to warn the believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 10:11). "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (v.12).

When things are looking up, when the sky is blue and the sun is shining, when everything's going our way, it's easy to get a big head and believe that nothing can bring us down. I hate to rain on anyone's parade, but that's exactly the time when we need to be on guard.

Just as that huge tree in Florida seemed as if it could withstand any storm, sometimes the people who seem the toughest, who "have it all together," are the ones most in danger of falling. Don't let yourself be the one to hit the ground hard. --Tracy Carbaugh

DESTINATION POINTS

* Have I ever "fallen" when everything seemed to be going great? What happened?
* Am I feeling confident about life right now?
* What's the difference between appropriate confidence and overconfidence?
* Can I think of anyone else in the Bible who had an unexpected fall?

LINKS:
Celebrating The Wonder Of A Tree
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q1113

bottom line: The biggest head hits the ground hardest.

soul journey