Looking Ahead

We fall down the stairs by focusing on the goal and miscalculating the next step. So which is more important, the goal or the next step?
Careful, don’t fall.
I’ve fallen down the stairs more times than I care to count. Hang on to the hand rail, I tell myself. Don’t carry boxes so big that you can’t see where you’re going. Worse yet, I’ve fallen up the stairs. You might wonder what special skill that requires. Absolutely none. All I have to do is miss the step.
There’s a stairway to Heaven.
Jacob saw the stairway in a dream, with angels ascending and descending between Heaven and Earth (Genesis 28:12). Evidently these angels didn’t have wings, or they wouldn’t have had to take the stairs. We read of one angel who took a terrible spill, Satan falling head-over-heels, all the way to Earth (Isaiah 14:12). What a misstep.
The stairs go both ways.
I wish I could take an escalator for an easy ride to the top, but so far, I haven’t found one. Some steps are more difficult than others, and Heaven still seems too far away. I could easily be discouraged, but then I glance back to see how far I’ve come. Nothing short of a miracle. Down is not my goal, so I need to watch my step.
Falling isn’t always fatal.
So far, I’ve always been able to get up, sometimes bruised and bleeding, but as long as I’m still breathing and have the desire to get up, I can—with the Lord’s help. Distractions can be disastrous. Focusing my eyes on the wrong thing seems to be my problem with falling. Peter looked at the wind and waves, lost sight of Jesus, and began to sink (Matthew 14:30). Peter didn’t drown. He reached out to Jesus and walk with him on the water, back to the boat. If the Lord is with me, he’s there to keep me from falling, even if I miss a step.
Neither the goal nor the step is more important than walking with the Lord.
The steps of righteous people are directed by the Lord, and they love to walk with him. They may stumble, but they won’t fall flat, because God will help them up. — Psalms 37:23–24 The Discussion Bible