Which way are you falling?

3/28/2020

There are seven “I am” statements that Jesus makes in the book of John. “I am the bread of life” Jn 6:35; I am the light of the world. Jn 8:12; I am the door Jn 10:9; I am the good shepherd Jn 10:11; I am the resurrection and the life Jn 11:25; I am the way, the truth, and the life Jn 14:6; I am the true vine Jn 15:1. 

But this verse that was in my reading today was what I noticed. “When Jesus said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground.” John 18:6

Do you see that? There was so much power in His speaking the words that the soldiers fell to the ground when he said “I am”. Wow. I have been pondering that while watching the world wake up this morning. In Romans 14:11 and Isaiah 45:23 it says “every knee will bow”. Jesus knocked those Roman soldiers off their feet just by saying I am. What is it that’s bringing you to your knees today? Is it the virus, fear of it? Or is it something else? I get so consumed with the daily updates and the numbers it sometimes shocks me when I see other news pop in on my news feed. I don’t need to forget that people are still getting sick with cancer or other things, there are still marriages crumbling and wayward children. I’ve heard it said that child abuse has increased because of the stress of everyone staying home. Jesus held so much power in His spoken word and we have that power. Just whisper His name under your breath today when you feel on shaky ground. I’m not saying we will wake up tomorrow and it will all be over. (I wish). But if we bow the knee today or get knocked down on our knees today, whichever the case may be. And whisper or cry out His name, we will be a little more stable in our standing tomorrow. 

Today: 

And it still blows me away! I also heard it said recently, that we should take notice that when Jesus said “I am” to the soldiers they fell backward, they didn’t fall to their knees. That’s because they weren’t his followers. I had never taken note of that. I hope that anytime I feel like I am falling that I will fall to my knees and not backward. I am His so that should be the case. When I re-read this devotional, I wanted to point that out. When your world is shaking and you feel like things may be falling apart, which way are you falling? Are you falling to your knees or are you falling backward? My friends, if you belong to Him, there is no reason to fall backward. Fall to your knees so that you can be in the posture of worship and kneeling in prayer. He will help you get back up. If you are falling backward it is a lot harder to get back up in the standing position than when you fall to your knees. There is a song (you know there always is) it’s called Touch the Sky, there is a line in it “I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground.“ You can too, you can touch the sky or the heart of Jesus or both when your knees hit the ground!