“But he would withdraw to the deserted places and pray.” Luke 5:16

Stepping Aside

In the world of boxing to roll with the punches means that you learn to step back, or to one side as you are being hit so that you don’t feel the full impact of the blow. This does not weaken one’s position, but stepping aside provides time to think, to adjust, and decide what the next move should be. In some instances it may seem to take on an element of surrender. A few times in my life I felt myself falling, and reaching a point where I knew I could not stop myself, made a split second decision to roll myself into a ball and surrender to it, thus minimizing the damage. The trick is to know when the time is right. Surrendering ourselves to God does not mean that we acknowledge our weakness, but that we give God permission to work through us. In the book of Genesis, Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, rose to a position of high standing, was falsely accused of rape, sent to jail, interpreted some dreams, and ultimately became second in power to Pharoah. There is victory in surrender. Jesus knew when the time had come for him to surrender himself to the authorities, and his victory over death speaks for itself.

lhart@gwi.net