Leap of Faith

I was once at a playground watching a man and his son having an exchange. The dad wanted his little boy to jump from a platform about eight feet high. The boy was obviously scared to jump. The man kept reassuring his son that he would be caught and it was safe to jump. Dad held out his arms and the boy started to work up the nerve to jump. He eventually stepped off the platform, but he wasn't fully committed. He kept his hand on the railing, hindering his jump. The dad couldn't catch the boy properly because of the son's lack of trust and the fear that kept his hand on safety. There was a pole next to the dad, and the boy hit his head on it during the fall.

 I couldn't help but imagine how shattered the son's trust in his dad would be from that moment forward. In his little mind, his daddy had encouraged this dangerous act, certain that he would catch his little boy. That situation could become a defining moment in that boy's life. But sadly, if he had released his hand from the railing, he would have landed safely in his daddy's arms. I'm sure the dad felt awful that he wasn't able to keep his son safe and unharmed. That had to be so embarassing. I was very sad for both of them.

Maybe you can see where I'm going with this. I know that the leap-from-the-cliff example is an obvious one, as it has been used many times. However, I'm adding the bit about letting go of the railing. God wants us to step out in faith because He has us. We will land in His arms if we trust Him. The problem is that, in our fear, in those moments that we aren't sure that the landing is guaranteed to be safe, we try to hold on to the bit of security and control we think we have. Imagine that you are cliff-diving. You step up to the edge and look down into the cerulean sea, first noticing that right below where you are standing is an extrusion of jagged rocks. You have to be all in to make this jump. If you don't get far enough out, you won't clear those rocks and you will be seriously hurt. If you retreat for a running start, then start to slow and change your mind, you put yourself in more danger than if you had just committed to the leap.

God is the father telling us it's okay to leave the ledge. If God is asking us to make a leap of faith, it doesn't do us any good to hold on to doubt. We have to completely surrender to have the full, beautiful experience. There is exhilaration in being uncertain but taking the chance anyway.

What if that boy on the playground had fullly trusted his dad and jumped without hesitation? The dad would have caught his son, who would have laughed and raced up to make another leap. This is what happens when we fully surrender to the call of our Heavenly Father. Though scared, we jump with reckless abandon. He catches us. We trust Him. Later, He asks us to jump again. We remember how He proved trustworthy by catching us the time before. So we jump again. And so on and so forth.....