The notion that your faith has to look like the step that Indiana Jones takes across the chasm to get to the Holy Grail is probably a tiny bit extreme.
Life is full of steps of faith, no doubt about that. Whether to buy this house, marry this person, take this job, or spend this money are always tough and will require a measure of faith that you are going in the right direction.
But, is God really expecting us to leap before we look?
In 2018, I scratched an item off of my bucket list when I went skydiving. It was something that I said for a long time that I would love to do and so my wife gave the experience to me as a birthday present. It was a moment where she had (unknowingly) called my bluff. My heart was mostly in it – seeking out a thrill/fear head on is something I’d rather do that just wonder, so here we went.
I never really thought of backing out at all. But, if there ever were a point of no return, it came about the time I was duck-walking to the door with a 250-lb navy pilot/parachutist strapped to my back for the tandem jump. If you wonder about how much guts it takes a newbie to actually jump out of the plane, the answer is . . .
None.
That’s right – you don’t have to scrounge up the courage at all. My new best friend didn’t ask if I was ready. He didn’t count to three. He didn’t give me any instructions at all. When it was our turn, we went to the opening in the side of the plane (at 14,500 feet), rocked back, and shot out the door headfirst.
The next few minutes were exhilarating and by the time we skidded to a stop on the ground, I was ready to go back up and do it again!
My faith that day was not only in the Lord God Almighty, but in the pilot, the equipment, and the guy I was strapped to. It was a definite LEAP, but not a blind leap by any stretch of the imagination.
So, where is it that you place your trust?
Check out this clip from a Billy Graham sermon. Then apply it to our nation right now.
Doctors, nurses, and emergency care personnel who are having to work through this time in our nation are true heroes in every sense of the word. And, if I am sick – I will lean into their expertise and experience to make things better. But, I don’t place my faith in them.
Out there are scientists and medical research professionals who are digging diligently to curb the impact that this virus has on individuals and, ultimately, our families and communities. Once their talents and intelligence have culminated in medical advancements, I will be thankful for their efforts. But, I don’t place my faith in them either.
I don’t envy the many levels of government officials who are having to make impossible decisions on an almost daily basis. I can’t fathom the responsibility and am grateful for their service and hope that they will continue to listen to all sides and be given every piece of information needed to make the right call. But, in the end, my faith isn’t laid up in their wisdom or decision-making either.
There is an object of my affection. Of my strength. And where I lay all the faith that I have. I place my trust in the One that was on the throne – yesterday, today, and forever. I’m glad He doesn’t share ALL of His plans, even though I think I want to know. Because if He did – I probably still wouldn’t believe it.
The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.
– Proverbs 14:15
Scottish Invasion 