Leaning Into the Fall: Committing to the Turn Instead of Fighting It
A Skiing Devotional
When skiers first learn to turn, they fight it. They're afraid of the fall line. They're afraid of tipping. They hold back, trying to stay upright in the way they're used to standing. And they make terrible turns.
An experienced skier does the opposite. They lean into the turn. They allow their body to tip. They trust the edge of the ski to hold them. And remarkably, that commitment to tipping creates a perfect arc of a turn. The skier who leans in, who commits fully to the turn, stays upright and moves smoothly.
The counterintuitive reality: committing to the tip creates stability. Fighting the tip creates crashes.
Spiritually, this mirrors repentance.
Repentance is leaning into the turn away from sin. It's tipping toward Jesus. And people instinctively fight it. They hold onto the old direction. They try to stay "upright" in their old life even as they're trying to turn. And it doesn't work.
Real change requires committing to the tip. Letting go of the old direction completely. Leaning all your weight into the new direction. It feels unstable – like you're going to fall over – but that commitment is what creates the turn.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Lean on the Lord. Commit to the tip. Tip completely toward Him.
Romans 6:13 says: "Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have come from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of his righteousness."
Offer yourself completely. Tip completely. Don't hold anything back.
Matthew 16:24-25 records Jesus saying: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."
Deny yourself. Lose your life. That's tipping completely. And that's what creates the turn toward life.
Luke 9:62 says: "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Don't look back. Tip forward. Commit to the new direction completely.
Many Christians make half turns. They tip a little toward Jesus but keep their weight partly in the old direction. They commit to following Jesus but hold onto old habits. They want to change but won't tip fully. And they never make the turn. They just tumble.
Tomorrow's Practice: Identify one area where you're making a half turn spiritually – you've started to tip toward Jesus but you're still holding weight in the old direction. Maybe it's a relationship, a habit, a loyalty, a fear. This week, commit to the full tip. Transfer all your weight. Let go completely of the old direction. Trust that the commitment to the turn – the very thing that feels risky – is what creates smooth movement.
Reflection Question: Are you making half turns spiritually while holding onto the old direction, or are you committing fully to tipping toward Jesus?