There was always a moment of fear and mild panic as you closed your eyes and fell backward. Would your team catch you in time? Would they hold you firm? Or would you find yourself crashing to the ground?
It was a team-building exercise that was used when I was at school—your group would surround you, and then, closing your eyes, you would allow yourself to fall back. The idea was to build trust as your teammates demonstrated their reliability by catching you. In order to completely let yourself go, you had to have absolute confidence in the ability of your teammates to not only catch you but also to hold your weight until you were lifted back up.
On the run and facing a multitude of uncertainties, David must have felt like he was in a free fall when he penned these words: “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever” (Psalm 52:8, NIV).
It would have been very easy for him to have prophesied doom and gloom for his future, yet because he trusted in God’s unfailing love, he was confident his destiny was to flourish. He knew that no matter how far he fell, the unfailing love of God would always hold him firm.
There have been many moments in my own journey where I too have had to learn to live loved—to be bold and confident in my Heavenly Father’s heart for me and His ability not only to catch me but to hold me and raise me back up.
His love is the kind of love that drives away our fears (1 John 4:18), invites us to belong (1 John 3:1), enables us to overcome (Rom. 8:37), brings stability to our lives (Psalm 21:7), causes us to come alive (Eph. 2:4-5), and fills us with the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19). It’s the kind of love that holds nothing back, but relentlessly pursues us. It’s unfailing and it never ends. It is utterly trustworthy—He is utterly trustworthy.
So fall back today friend and let His arms of love hold you firm.
