THE THIRD STATION: Jesus Falls for the First Time

I am troubled now. Yet what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour?” But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.

—John 12:27–28

How many of us know someone who has fallen—fallen on hard times, on difficulties in a relationship, on a moment of doubt and challenge? How many of us are experiencing a moment like this now? But these moments, these hardships, are never borne in vain. All things, if we allow them to, have the potential to conspire together for the greater glory of God.

Maria and her family certainly fell on hard times after being forced from their native land in Colombia. All seemed lost. Yet, they struggled back to their feet—and in so doing, discovered a new passion, an unknown skill. Now they are successful coffee farmers, and Maria is in school to further this new passion.

God does not will that we fall but, when we inevitably do, we are each given that opportunity—that moment of choice—to stand back up, look around and take stock of ourselves and our lives. Where is God at work, even in apparent darkness? We look to Jesus, who, though he fell, got up and kept walking. How can we help those we meet do the same? How can we, ourselves, continue on?