though they stumble...

Psalm 37:24 

Though they stumble, they will never fall,
    for the Lord holds them by the hand.

Psalm 37 has a lot to say about two kinds of people, "the Godly" and "the wicked".  The Godly appear to be described by verse 31.  These are the ones who have "made God's law their own" and have learned not to have too high of a regard for following themselves alone.  The wicked don't seem to care much for the Godly and verse 12 tells us that they "plot against the godly and snarl at them in defiance".  Apparently how folks relate to God says a lot about how they relate to each other.  This psalm goes on to paint a bright future for the godly and an empty one for the wicked.  One of the verses I found most interesting was the one above (verse 24) that tells us that even the godly will stumble and I found this so relatable.  Following the Lord and His ways doesn't mean we don't stumble...we stumble frequently in our humanness.  But what a great promise that He will catch us before we entirely fall.  Another encouraging verse is verse 27, which exhorts those on the "wicked" side of life to "turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever".  The gospel in a nutshell is that we all start on the wicked side but have the hope of eternity if we will turn and bow before God's redemption, provided in His Son.  Perhaps most beautiful of all: when the Godly, who have been sneered at by the wicked, reach out in love and assist the wicked to come across into the place of hope and life.

blessings,

Rob Smith