Take Care
by Malcolm Wood
Recent national and international events in the matters of health, finance, politics, wars, and natural disasters have highlighted the fragility of worldly systems, structures, ideologies, and the decline of moral and ethical boundaries. These happenings have surely confirmed, if we didn’t already know, the vulnerability of mankind.
Although we face more difficult and challenging times, those who leave God out of the situation believe that man alone will find the answers to humanity’s problems by re-adapting, restructuring, and re-inventing. As I consider this, I can’t help but think of the old saying, ‘Pride goes before a fall’. No doubt these words are based on Proverbs 16:18, ‘Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.’
Some people have a sense of false security, assuming they can rely on their own abilities, achievements, prowess, and the prestige others give them. There are celebrities and high-profile people from every walk of life, held in high esteem, even in the Church, who have fallen from grace. They fall for a variety of reasons, corruption, impropriety, crime, or immorality.
I believe that Christians in today’s world are particularly vulnerable. We need to be careful not to be taken off guard. As the return of Jesus draws nearer, we need to be aware that our enemy, Satan, is becoming more active in attacking believers. He is trying to cause them to fall and become subject to the spirit of the age by compromising.
The warning above, taken from Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, is given in the context of needing to flee from temptation. But it is surely a warning to all of God’s people at any time and in any place not to be complacent. We must realise that whoever we are, great or small, young, or old, we all have the capability of falling.
As we endeavour to stand firm in our faith in these challenging times, these words from Proverbs give good advice, ‘Guard your heart above all else for it determines the course of your life. Avoid perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil’ (Proverbs 4:23-27).
The writer to the Hebrews also gives valuable advice, ‘Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most’ (Hebrews 4:16).
Malcolm Wood and his wife Anna became part of the Ellel family as House Managers at Ellel Grange in 1990. Since then they have been involved with many aspects of the developing Ministry. From 2001 until 2015 they were Directors of Ellel Scotland where they hosted several International Schools and Operation Blairmore and helped pioneer the exciting Creative Inspiration Weeks. They have three sons.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
