*Dad and I on my birthday, May 7th, 2013
Last night, I was playing my guitar and singing for daddy…Momma said, “I would ask you to sing Catch Me When I Fall, but I know it’ll make me cry…I do wish you would post the lyrics on your daddy’s blog though.” Trying to refrain from breaking down in front of daddy again I didn’t sing what he calls is his favorite song, but I would like to share the lyrics with you. This song is my daddy’s favorite that I have written. It tells a simple story of time spent with him when I was a youngster and the powerful lesson of what it means to walk by faith that he taught me. Through such a simple game, my daddy gave me the precious visual of walking by faith and not by sight, as I would hear my father’s voice, and he would command me to blindly, with eyes closed and fists at my side, fall into the arms I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, would catch me, even though I couldn’t see them because of the darkness. As life rolls on, and the pain of trials that test this faith is indescribable, how thankful I am for the lesson learned that I have a heavenly Father Who catches me and upholds me with His everlasting arms, (Dt.33:27)through the love and devotion of my earthly one whose heart was to teach me to love the LORD with all my heart and walk by the light of His word and not the shadows of death that would surround me.
Today, abiding in the shadow of death, as I watch my sweet daddy wasting away, his condition worsening, I am reminded of what it looks like to walk by faith, begging God to strengthen mine and protect me from my own unbelief as all that I can see defies what God had said. My father is weaker then ever, and my hearts breaks as I see his body so broken, but should it cause my faith to falter?
What is faith and how can I walk by it?
“Faith comes by hearing and hearing BY THE WORD OF GOD.” (Rom.10:17)
Faith is simply believing what God has said. My favorite example and simple definition of faith:
“…according to that which was spoken…(Abraham) staggered not at the PROMISE OF GOD through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. And being fully persuaded that what He had promised, HE WAS ABLE ALSO TO PERFORM.” (Rom.4:18-21) Abraham was strong in faith and able to bring glory to his maker because he simply believed the promise of God that was given to him and refrained from focusing on the circumstances that seemed impossible to the human eye.
I know that my thoughts are not His thoughts and neither are my ways His, but I do KNOW, that God cannot lie and that He will perform all that He has promised. (Tit.1:2,Heb.10:23) I do not know exactly how He will deliver but I am confident He will deliver my daddy. When prayerfully seeking His will, asking that He reveal from His word which is alive and powerful, if it was time to prepare for my daddy’s early departure or that He would grant him length of days and long life (Pro.3:1-2) He revealed day after day, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps.46:10) “thus saith the LORD unto you, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s…ye have no need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD…” (2Chron.20:15,17) “Fear not, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD which He will show to you today…the LORD shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace.” (Ex.14:13-14)
On the basis of God’s written word (not what I see with my eyes and certainty not the ache that my heart feels) but according to what He has spoken, I eagerly await the salvation of the LORD that He has promised! And now, just as I fell blindly into my daddy’s arms, I fall into those of my Savior Who is, “faithful that promised,” (Heb.10:23) fully expecting that He will deliver us as He promised.
Catch Me When I Fall
We’d stand in a line round the living room
As we watched and waited for our turn to play
Dad sat on the floor with arms open wide
As we stood up strait an tall, fists at our side
The rules were very simple you had to close your eyes
And trust that daddy would catch us
Ch: Daddy catch me when I fall
When I trust you I’m not scared at all
‘Cause I know when I look up
I’ll find myself safe in my fathers arms
We named the game trust an exercise of faith (Heb.5:18)
As we fell into the arms we couldn’t see
But with a sure promise from our daddy (Rom.4:20-21)
We could trust though we couldn’t see (2 Cor. 5:7)
But every now and then fear would enter in
And doubt would get in the way of trust
Our knees might buckle as we tried to catch ourselves
And daddy would remind us
Ch: Dad will catch you when you fall
When you trust me you won’t be scared at all
You should know when you look up
You’ll find yourself safe in your fathers arms
Now that I am older and my Savior reveals
Who He is and who I’m to be
My faith like a child is tested with trials
And I often become afraid
Knowing that I am weak (Joh.15:15)
His grace I boldly seek (Heb.4:16)
And this becomes my prayer
Ch: Father catch me when I fall
When I trust You I’m not scared at all
‘Cause I know, when I look up
I’ll find myself, safe in my Father’s arms
*You can hear Catch Me When I Fall on iTunes