By Van Yandell
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
In the 80s and into the 90s, I rode with a bicycle club. Several times each year we rode century rides. A regular century is 100 miles and a metric century is 62 miles (100 kilometers).
One ride we did at least once each year was from an agriculture station in our home county to Nashville, Tennessee. The route for the ride was south on Highway 41. On one of those rides just past the Tennessee state line, a friend and I were riding along about 16 miles per hour.
I drifted a little behind him and my front wheel hit his rear wheel. My front fork folded and I found myself in the air going over the handlebars. I landed on my right leg on a very rough paved highway. The skin was removed from my right shin about the size of an elongated baseball.
The first aid kit in our sag wagon (support vehicle) contained rubbing alcohol. The driver poured the “disinfectant” on my leg and the fire began.
A friend riding with me asked if I played football in high school or college. “No. Why?” He explained I fell like I had training on how to fall. “You mean there is a right way and a wrong way to fall?” I asked.
He told me one of the first lessons in training for the football season was how to fall. One very basic rule is to not try to catch one’s self. Many falling injuries are to hands, wrists and arms because people instinctively try to catch themselves.
Another basic rule is to turn loose, relax and let your body go where it will. Injuries, of course, are mainly from impact (especially if any height is involved). When you realize the fall is inevitable, it is best to turn loose. If we tense up, the fall is more likely to result in injury.
To roll with the fall is another technique used to avoid injury. With the chin tucked down to lessen the possibility of a head injury, knees bent, hips up, roll with the fall. This of course is not always possible, but when conditions allow, it has saved many from serious injury.
These techniques are not natural but can be developed. Hopefully most of us are not going to be involved in falling as much as a football player so the natural reaction may take a while to develop.
Athletes and military people are not the only ones needing training on how to fall. The elderly need to be aware of how to fall. As we grow older, aches and pains tend to weaken us and make falling more likely. In many elderly, bones have become brittle and a fall resulting in a broken hip or pelvis can lead to death.
Having had healthy ancestors also adds to the equation, but all are not fortunate in that area. Doctors and scientists urge us to keep up our exercise programs even into our old age. Two key factors in longevity are proper nutrition and exercise.
Yesterday, I was moving a load of wood in a wheelbarrow. I hung a foot on a stump and the only way to go was down. My bottom lip hit the edge of the wheelbarrow tub and split it open. Bleeding profusely, I managed to sneak by Margie and get to a sink and clean myself up before she saw me.
Falls like my wheelbarrow mishap happen fast and one cannot always think that quickly. The art of falling for an athlete becomes instinctual and the letting go becomes a natural reaction.
Learning how to fall is important but having the determination to get back up and carry on is equally important. Philippians 3:14-15 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
We all will fall in the spiritual realm of life. It is comforting to know our Creator is a God of second chances and we all need those second chances. Falling is inevitable but getting back up and pressing on is essential.
We fall from those basic rules and guidelines of living, of being civilized and, of course, those rules of righteousness set forth by God.
Matthew 28:20b “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” How comforting it is to continually know our Jesus is always with us ready to forgive, bless and comfort. He is the “rock of our salvation” and His wish is to be a part of our lives.
Isaiah 40:31 “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” He gives us a strength for which there is no comparison.
Falling away from that which is right happens to all of us and basically, the same rules apply as to an athlete falling in a game. Turning loose of ourselves and giving it to God is not a natural human reaction. But when we realize we cannot do it ourselves, giving it to God is our only reasonable solution.
At times, we humans stumble and fall from the will and commandments of God. Our flesh is our greatest natural enemy. Perhaps our Creator made us this way so we would be humbled and require redemption. God has a plan for our lives and our transgressions may very well be a part of that plan.
Many of us have to reach rock-bottom before we could reach out to God. In prison ministries, we realize most of those in services are at the low point in their lives. The serious find a new or renewed relation with the Savior is their only hope.
Our greatest relationship with our Creator Jesus (Colossians 1:16) is our eternal salvation. He wants us to believe in what He did to save our souls. Christ Jesus was crucified for the remission of sin and resurrected.
The word “whosoever” in John 3:16 includes ever one of us. 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
Romans 3:23 places all of us on a level playing field. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The Glory of God is in His righteousness. We all fall short of that righteousness because we are weak and susceptible.
The wiles of the devil are constantly out to destroy us and it is only by a sustained level of perseverance and determination we can overcome.Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God; that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
We can all be assured, when God has us He will not give up on us (John 10:28-30). We can rest assuredly God is faithful to His word. He has promised us eternity and when we fall, He will always be there to pick us up. Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary, from Fredonia, Kentucky. This column is part of the Bible Connection series.
