Get back in the Saddle 

Sunday, October 27^th 2024 (week 85)
 
Romans 7: 14-25
 
The day after I passed my Driving Test when I was just eighteen years old, I had quite a big motor accident. I was driving the works’ Transit van and had just taken a load of old “u\s” televisions to the local tip before loading the van with nice brand-new colour TVs. I was no more than two hundred yards away from the warehouse when I hit a large truck coming in the opposite direction because I was on the wrong side of the road!
 
Thankfully, seat belts were not mandatory back in 1974 because if I had been wearing one it’s highly likely I would not have survived the crash. Instead, I was thrown to the passenger side of the cab as the impact completely crushed the driver’s side. The hospital patched me up and eventually sent me home, but it was a while before I was driving again, and I recall my father taking me out in his car to help restore my confidence.
 
Returning to normality can be difficult after a sudden change, adversity or mishap and getting back in the saddle can feel tough. The phrase originates from cowboys and other horseback riders needing to mount up again following a fall.
 
In our everyday lives, we can sometimes fall, in that we fall short of what we know is God’s best for us because we are all sinners. We let ourselves and Him down. Whether it’s the result of tiredness, stress, illness or our own wilfulness we are all capable of doing things that are not what God wants us to do. At those times, the disappointment we feel in ourselves, the grief at letting God down, or our own shame can all cause us to wallow in self-pity and even doubt our faith in Jesus and the forgiveness he has already imparted to us.
 
In today’s passage, Paul speaks encouragingly about his own struggles and the spiritual battle which goes on within us all. Whether we like it or not it’s a battle which will continue until we are perfected in Heaven for eternity with Jesus. When we fail, we need to repent. As Christians however, we can take heart from what Jesus has already said. In John 3:18 when speaking to Nicodemus Jesus reminds us that there is “no condemnation” for those who believe in him. He has already forgiven us and knowing that he loves us so much should spur us on to serve him even more faithfully.
 
However, God has yet more for us. In Romans 8:28 Paul also reminds us, “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.” God used my own failing of him, yes, my sin to bring about these words and I am unable to express the depth of my eternal gratitude here except to say, Thank you, Lord.
 
 
Prayer: Lord, thank you for choosing us, granting us your everlasting forgiveness and giving us a purpose in you.