Sunday 23 August 2026

When We Fall, God Is There

Two days ago, I had an experience that reminded me just how quickly life can change.

I was walking from my office down to the foyer at church. As I was coming down the steps, I missed my footing on the second to last step, and suddenly I was no longer walking — I was on the floor.

I went straight down, taking the full pressure of my weight. I landed on my elbows, and almost simultaneously both knees hit the floor. There I was, stretched out on the floor, rather surprised by what had just happened.

My first thought was, “I need to get up.” But I couldn’t.

Almost immediately, people came running. One person reached out a hand to help me. Another brought a chair so I could sit. Someone else brought me warm water. In the midst of an accident, I was surrounded by people who cared.

Isn’t that something worth noticing?

Sometimes we don’t realise how much we need one another until something happens that brings us to the floor.

Later that evening, I began to feel the full impact of the fall. My knees were weak, my ankles needed support, and I had a restless night. I went to bed early, sore and wondering how I would feel in the morning.

And then came the morning.

I got up. I got ready for work. I was still sore, but I could move — much more than I had been able to the night before.

And I found myself thinking: miracles do happen.

Perhaps we sometimes imagine miracles as something dramatic and spectacular. But sometimes a miracle is simply waking up in the morning and discovering that your body is recovering. Sometimes it is being able to stand when the night before you could barely move. Sometimes it is the gift of people who are there when you fall.

And yes, I have reflected on what happened.

Part of me says, “That was my fault. I should have been watching where I was going.” There is a lesson in that too. We can become so familiar with a place, so focused on where we are going, that we stop paying attention to the step immediately in front of us.

Perhaps there is a spiritual lesson here.

We can do exactly the same thing in life. We can become so focused on the destination, the work, the next responsibility, the next ministry, the next thing that needs to be done, that we fail to notice the step immediately in front of us.

And sometimes we fall.

But the good news is this: when we fall, we are not alone.

There are people who will come running. There are hands that will reach out. There are people who will bring a chair when we cannot stand, warm water when we are hurting, and simply stay close when we need someone beside us.

And beyond all of that is the gracious presence of God.

Psalm 37:24 reminds us:

“Though they stumble, they will not fall headlong, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

I love that image.

It doesn’t say that we will never stumble.
It doesn’t say that we will never fall.
It says that when we do, the Lord holds us by the hand.

Two days ago, I fell. Today, I am almost 80% restored.

I am grateful — grateful for the people who came to my aid, grateful for a body that is recovering, grateful for another morning, and above all, grateful for the God who holds us when our own strength is not enough.

So perhaps my little accident has left me with a simple reminder:

Watch where you are going.
Don’t take the next step for granted.
And when you do fall, don’t be afraid to reach out for a hand.

Because sometimes God’s care comes to us through the hands of the people standing nearby.

And sometimes, when we wake up the next morning and find that we can stand again, we simply have to say:

“Thank you, Lord. Miracles do happen.”

Blessings

Enosa