This past week we visited Woburn Safari Park where there is a play area for children. Our older granddaughter loved the park and she demonstrated to us quite clearly how her gymnastics lessons have helped to develop her sense of balance. With arms outstretched to help her keep her balance, she navigated the twists and turns of the wooden beams quite confidently.
Maintaining balance is largely a matter of practice. We understand this when it comes to children learning to walk and ride a bicycle – or navigating the different challenges of a play area – but we don’t always appreciate that as adults, we too have to keep practising if we want to maintain balance. Moreover, we accept that falling and failing will be inevitable when it comes to children, but often a fear of falling and failing paralyses us as adults, and we prefer not to even try because we are afraid if we step out in faith, it will end in crashing failure.
Moving in spiritual realms is risky. We won’t always get it right, but just as the child falls and is picked up by loving parents and encouraged to try again, so too we have a heavenly Father who is longing to pour out His Spirit in our lives. Let’s not be afraid to ask God to use us in the spiritual realm, to give us access to heavenly wisdom, knowledge and power, and let’s step out in boldness. Little children have much to teach us.
