Almost:

Almost!

Those of us who get out of bed in the morning have all kinds of "almost" experiences.  

"I almost slipped on that icey spot by the front door."

"That guy who ran the red light almost took the front end off my car."

"I almost said something about Bob being a lazy goof-off, before I realized that he is the boss's son-in-law."

Just thinking about what could have happened leaves us with a queasy feeling in our stomach.  Hopefully those near misses bring home the reality that next time it might be "six inches to the right," or "half-a-second sooner."  Instead of telling a tale of what could have happened and nearly did, we would be sharing a real history from a hospital bed or an unemployment line.

Asaph shares these frightening words in Psalm 73.  "But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped." (Psalm 73:2)   As he looked around at the wicked and saw how they prospered and looked at himself and others who like him were seeking to live according to God's word, he saw a dissonance that shook him to his core.  "The way," "The path," "The narrow road," are all ways of expressing following God.  I picture Asaph walking a treacherous mountain trail.  He was walking it because he believed it was the right path.  He had confidence that it led away from a place where he no longer desired to live, and to a place where life is good.  But as his attention was diverted away from the goal he sought to achieve to the abyss of the wicked who were all around him and to the shear rock wall of difficulty that living a Godly life had become in his mind, he almost stumbled and slipped.

Praise God for "Almost"! 

Last night at CBC Sunday Nite we identified four "One word" responses to the almost condition we see not only in Psalm 73, but Psalm 10, 37, and 94 as well.  I encourage you to read these Psalms.  Over the next few days we'll see what we can learn from these spiritual near misses.  

It's STTA. 

A little over ten years ago I actually had a wreck.  Some things really happened.  Worse things almost  happened.  Read morehere. 

You'll find some resources that explains the true hope here.