Verse of the Day for May 18

The verse people love is The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD. The verse that follows is the one people need. Though he fall.

Notice that it does not say if. David, writing as an old man, assumes the good man whose steps are ordered will still fall. Ordered steps include stumbles. They include doors that close and prayers answered with no.

The promise is careful. he shall not be utterly cast down. Utterly is an honest word. It admits that you may be cast down, bruised, embarrassed, grieving. It denies only that the fall will be final.

And the reason has nothing to do with the strength of the one falling. the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. A hand under you is something you usually notice only on the way down.

If the answer this week was no, the scholarship, the proposal, the result you hoped would come back clear, you may be on the ground right now. You are not utterly cast down. The hand is already there.

Falling is not proof that your steps were never ordered.

He delights in your way even on the day it hurts.