Tripped Up
Tripped Up
Pastor Aaron Rios | March 30, 2025 | Garden City Church
Have you ever felt like you were running a race only to find yourself flat on your face? Something—or someone—tripped you up. Maybe it was a mistake, a disappointment, or an attack you never saw coming. The Bible warns us that we can be "beset"—meaning encumbered, hindered, and even ensnared by the weights and sins designed to stop us.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
If we’re not fully reliant on the Holy Spirit, we run the risk of being tripped up—derailed from God's best, settling for something lesser simply because we stumbled.
What’s Tripping You Up?
Some people hesitate at the question, "Can I really miss out on God’s plan?" The answer? Absolutely. Scripture is filled with people who never entered into God’s promises due to sin, unbelief, or compromise. God is good, but that doesn’t mean He forces His will upon us. He teaches us the right path, but we can choose to wander.
Psalm 143:10 reminds us:
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
God doesn’t desire for us to stumble through painful lessons—He desires for us to walk in righteousness. He can redeem our mistakes, but we don’t have to make them in order to grow.
1. Unbelief—Seeing Is Not Always Believing
Consider this: in just two chapters (Matthew 8-9), Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, calmed storms, raised the dead, and yet still met rejection, ridicule, and resistance. The Pharisees saw miracle after miracle, but instead of believing, they blasphemed.
Seeing is not always believing.
Faith isn’t sustained by applause, tangible results, or an emotional high. What happens when the butterflies of faith fade? When the supernatural doesn’t feel as spectacular? God wants to graduate you to a faith that is anchored in His Word. Signs and wonders certainly remain, but faith keeps us steadfast when feelings do not.
Hebrews 10:38 declares:
“But my righteous one shall live by faith.”
Jesus knew His mission. He didn’t need validation from the crowd. If you rely on human affirmation to sustain your faith, you’ll be trapped in a cycle of highs and lows. The greatest miracle is a life that keeps believing, even when it’s not seeing.
John 20:29:
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
2. Questioning the Mission and Authority
In Matthew 9:32-34, a demon-possessed man was healed, and the crowd was amazed—but the Pharisees? They hardened their hearts. Why? Because the work of God didn’t look the way they expected.
Too often, answered prayers don’t come in recognizable packaging. We think God’s blessings will arrive with a bow, but they often come wrapped in difficulty. The fruit of the Spirit is cultivated in fruitless and difficult seasons.
Jesus could have been discouraged by the rejection. A lesser person might have asked, "Why am I facing so much resistance if I’m doing God’s work?" Instead, He remained focused.
The temptation is always to reconsider God’s calling when validation is lacking.
3. Focusing on Your Purpose in Christ
When rejection comes, how do you respond? Jesus set the standard.
Isaiah 50:7 says:
“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.”
Jesus fixed His face like flint—immovable, unshakable. If you live for the applause of man, you will die from their criticism. The critics are part of the mission, but they cannot define it.
4. Remaining in Love—The Right Motivation
Jesus wasn’t motivated by proving Himself or silencing His critics. He was moved by love.
Matthew 9:36 tells us:
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
The religious leaders opposed Him, but Jesus stayed focused on the harassed and helpless. His mission was not about securing a platform or a paycheck. It was about people.
Final Questions to Consider
At the end of it all, when the trials, disappointments, and hardships have passed, will you have stayed the course?
2 Corinthians 5:14 reminds us:
“For Christ’s love compels us.”
One day, when we close our eyes on this side of eternity and open them in the presence of our King, will we hear those long-awaited words?
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Hebrews 12:1 tells us:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
If we’re not fully reliant on the Holy Spirit, we run the risk of being tripped up—derailed from God's best, settling for something lesser simply because we stumbled.
What’s Tripping You Up?
Some people hesitate at the question, "Can I really miss out on God’s plan?" The answer? Absolutely. Scripture is filled with people who never entered into God’s promises due to sin, unbelief, or compromise. God is good, but that doesn’t mean He forces His will upon us. He teaches us the right path, but we can choose to wander.
Psalm 143:10 reminds us:
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
God doesn’t desire for us to stumble through painful lessons—He desires for us to walk in righteousness. He can redeem our mistakes, but we don’t have to make them in order to grow.
1. Unbelief—Seeing Is Not Always Believing
Consider this: in just two chapters (Matthew 8-9), Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, calmed storms, raised the dead, and yet still met rejection, ridicule, and resistance. The Pharisees saw miracle after miracle, but instead of believing, they blasphemed.
Seeing is not always believing.
Faith isn’t sustained by applause, tangible results, or an emotional high. What happens when the butterflies of faith fade? When the supernatural doesn’t feel as spectacular? God wants to graduate you to a faith that is anchored in His Word. Signs and wonders certainly remain, but faith keeps us steadfast when feelings do not.
Hebrews 10:38 declares:
“But my righteous one shall live by faith.”
Jesus knew His mission. He didn’t need validation from the crowd. If you rely on human affirmation to sustain your faith, you’ll be trapped in a cycle of highs and lows. The greatest miracle is a life that keeps believing, even when it’s not seeing.
John 20:29:
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
2. Questioning the Mission and Authority
In Matthew 9:32-34, a demon-possessed man was healed, and the crowd was amazed—but the Pharisees? They hardened their hearts. Why? Because the work of God didn’t look the way they expected.
Too often, answered prayers don’t come in recognizable packaging. We think God’s blessings will arrive with a bow, but they often come wrapped in difficulty. The fruit of the Spirit is cultivated in fruitless and difficult seasons.
Jesus could have been discouraged by the rejection. A lesser person might have asked, "Why am I facing so much resistance if I’m doing God’s work?" Instead, He remained focused.
The temptation is always to reconsider God’s calling when validation is lacking.
3. Focusing on Your Purpose in Christ
When rejection comes, how do you respond? Jesus set the standard.
- He didn’t argue.
- He didn’t prove Himself.
- He didn’t quit.
- He continued.
Isaiah 50:7 says:
“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.”
Jesus fixed His face like flint—immovable, unshakable. If you live for the applause of man, you will die from their criticism. The critics are part of the mission, but they cannot define it.
4. Remaining in Love—The Right Motivation
Jesus wasn’t motivated by proving Himself or silencing His critics. He was moved by love.
Matthew 9:36 tells us:
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
The religious leaders opposed Him, but Jesus stayed focused on the harassed and helpless. His mission was not about securing a platform or a paycheck. It was about people.
Final Questions to Consider
At the end of it all, when the trials, disappointments, and hardships have passed, will you have stayed the course?
- Have you allowed critics, disappointments, or unbelief to derail you?
- What is truly motivating your service to the Lord?
- Are you pursuing a platform, an opportunity, or a paycheck—or are you compelled by Christ’s love?
2 Corinthians 5:14 reminds us:
“For Christ’s love compels us.”
One day, when we close our eyes on this side of eternity and open them in the presence of our King, will we hear those long-awaited words?
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Posted in Sunday Sermon
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