If I say, “My foot slips,” Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.”

-Psalm 94:18-19

We all try to be good people, at least, I hope we do, but sometimes we slip. We may not do something truly awful, but sometimes we get angry and lash out or do something else that is unkind and makes us feel afterward that we are not a good person. We slip sometimes, but even on those days when we are not as kind or good as we would like to be, the Lord is there to hold us up.

Sometimes, we just make bad decisions. Those decisions lead to anxiety in our lives, but remember God is there to put to rest our anxieties. We all have a lot of things that worry us. Sometimes bad things just happen but know that no matter what happens to us in this life, God will be there for us. His comfort should delight our soul.

In Psalms 94:18-19, as so often happens in the Bible, the writer uses a visual image to help us understand a spiritual truth. Despite the thousands of years that separate us from the writer of this psalm, this image is one which still speaks directly to us. Perhaps there was a time when you were climbing a steep hill and suddenly your foot began to slip. You felt a moment of fear and panic, but your friend was there, to take your hand and help you up. In that moment, you may have seen your “life flash before your eyes,” but your friend was there to help you. That is what these two verses are reminding us of, God will be that hand that helps us up.

When something bad happens, or we slip in our spiritual life, it can cause a lot of anxiety. Faith is that friend that helps us in this life. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We may not always see God’s hand reaching out to save us when we slip, but God is there no matter how much anxiety we may experience. God can replace our anxieties with joy, so that the perceptions of our human condition become a cause for celebration.