Look Up

I struggle with heights, especially when there is nothing beneath me. I would definitely not make it as a tight rope walker.

So, it is quite ironic that a few weekends past, I found myself 50 feet in the air on a wire looking down at the people below me. It was terrifying and thrilling at the same time

I somehow found myself signing up for the Ropes  Course at the camp I was leading worship at. Once it began, the first thing I had to do was scramble up a tree, then walk across a wire bridge and step sideways across another wire with the aid of the hanging ropes. Apparently, I was doing a little to well, so the instructor had my put one hand behind my back and grab the ropes with only my right hand. I was tempted to reach with the other hand, but the challenge fired me up and I did it.

I was feeling great....until I got the the swinging bridge. I took a step down...it wasn't steady. I put my arms out to balance myself. With each step, I could feel the distance between me and the ground, as the bridge wobbled just enough to unsettle my heart and stir up my fear. Then it happened, I froze. I froze and the thoughts and pictures in my head of the moment where it all ends and I fail and go crawling back down, a failure, flooded my mind.

​The instructor coached me. She said I could do it. She gave me tips, saying that if I just keep moving, the bridge would be steady, especially when I have to go over the single six foot plank in the center. I didn't believe her. I knew what I felt. I knew that with each step, the bridge seemed to swing more. Yet, I made the decision to believe what she was saying and I moved forward quickly, flying across the plank (with my eyes closed) and I made it to the next tree. I could breath again!

After that the swings were a breeze and I ended by sailing down on the zipline.

I made it. I felt invigorated. I faced my fear and I conquered it.

But, here is the reality. At no point was I actually in any danger of falling to the ground. I was safely harnessed to a secure line that would catch me if I fell. Yet, the fear was still there, the hesitation was real. Did I actually trust that the harness would catch me? At the time, no!

That's life. And that's life in Christ. How many times have I gone through trials and I look down and all I see is how far I could fall instead of looking up and remembering the harness that will catch me when I do.

When I am wrapped in my fear and trials come, it is more difficult to hear and trust the voice that says, "Keep moving. If you trust me the way will be sure and you will make it to the end. You will not fall." All I can see during that time is how far down I could fall.

In our fear, our vision can get blurry, but we also have the ability to choose to trust Truth. We can choose to trust those who see more clearly than we do and heed their wisdom. We can choose to take our thoughts captive and put them in obedience to the truth of Jesus Christ.

Friends, when you are on the wire and you look down, may I encourage you to look up, remember that you are secure and harnessed to the anchor of your soul, Jesus Christ. It's true. Trust me, because I can see clearly now.

​Where are you struggling to trust? Today, try to take a tiny step forward in faith in that area and see if He is faithful. 

​I loe you in the Lord, Mia