Our family has always been great board games players and I have a variety in the cupboard that come out whenever we get together. In their younger days my eldest son was almost always the winner to his younger brother’s frustration. Now they are much older it doesn’t seem to matter too much. One day we were playing Trivial Pursuit and against all the odds I was the winner – that was unheard of and I occasionally remind my older son of it. Many different life lessons can be learned through playing games.
One of the simple games we played was Snakes and Ladders. How excited they used to get when climbing a tall ladder, only to find themselves slipping down the snake. Life can be like that can’t it? So many ups and downs. When things go wrong it can be painful. It hurts slipping down a snake. But the important thing is not to give up, even when it seems the only thing to do. Because eventually you pass the place where you slipped down. And there may be a ladder just around the corner. If you give up, you’ll never find the ladder, will you?
What can we do when we painfully slip down the ladder for whatever reason? Jesus is the Rock on which we build our faith and He is our Solid Rock that is immovable.
Lord help us to trust in you to hold us safe and secure when things around us and within us cause us pain, uncertainty and insecurity. You are our promised Rock and your promises are strong enough to hold us.