ListeningInn

“It is by going down into the abyss that you recover the treasures of life.
Where you stumble, there lies your treasures.” 
~ Joseph Campbell ~
 

As Winston Churchill so wisely advised, “Men occasionally stumble over a truth, but most of these pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened,” I entered the abyss of a recent nasty fall and started discovering some hidden treasures, coming across these ancient words of another wise man :​

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“For the righteous falls seven times and rises again,
but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” 
~ Proverbs 24:16, ESV ~

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In a culture that often measures and validates by achievements, accolades, acquisitions, admirations and even appearances, these wise words are providing a refreshing perspective. True righteousness is not about never falling and failing. It is about rising each time we do.

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“We stumble and fall constantly even when we are most enlightened.
But when we are in true spiritual darkness, we do not even know that we have fallen.”
~ Thomas Merton ~
 

Even the upright and those living life in accordance with God’s laws are far from perfect and are capable of stumbling, falling and making mistakes. The fallen “rises again” and stand up with resiliency and resolve to move forward. True calamity comes when God’s people in “true spiritual darkness” are blind to our own downfall and continue stumbling in darkness.  

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A falling or a breakdown can actually be a hidden treasure awaiting discovery and recovery. Prov 24:16 speaks volumes about resilience and the indomitable spirit of faith. Fallings and setbacks in life are not ends but means to growth and renewal, to discover the substance of who we can become by knowing who God truly is. Solomon is revealing to us God’s grace and patience with His people. He is portraying a loving God who values perseverance and faithfulness over perfection. In life and in faith we face daily challenges that test our strength and resolve. How will we embrace resilience as a hallmark of faith to rise above adversities and move toward trusting in God’s unwavering support and merciful love each time we have fallen?
 

“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.”
~ Micah 7:8, NIV ~
 

In this season of global unrest, increasing uncertainties of socio-economic-political-religious upheavals, increasing mental duress and climate change leading to food scarcity, where is our grounding? In the face of adversities and growing ageing concerns, where is our center? After the Fall in Eden, God asked the first question to the fallen humanity, “Where are you?” And Jesus paraphrased those three words in four pertinent Questions – and the quest for life – that are both personal and seasonal :-

• “What are you looking for?”

• “For whom are you seeking?”

• “Do you love me more than these?”

• “Who do you say that I am?”

Can these questions serve as God’s invitation to come away with Him to a quiet place and find soul-rest in our quest for life? For in Christ is the hidden “treasures of life” in the abyss for anyone who has stumbled, and yet would rise above each adversity with resiliency and resolve to walk in the Way, the Truth and the Life with God, Who walks and is with us “until the end of age.”