Never Look Down
This summer, I took two of the boys zip-lining over London. We climbed what seemed like hundreds of steps until we were 35 meters above the ground. But it was cool. We could barely see the ground from where we stood because the stairwell was covered until it was time to get hooked on to the zip line. Through it all our excitement grew at what we expected would be a thrill of a ride. “Climb down these three steps and stop” That was my instructor. Guys, the three steps resembled the stairway to heaven. It ended mid-air with no barrier or railing, and you were surrounded by nothing, not even trees or buildings- those were beneath you. But I made the mistake of looking down. In that instance, my heart exited my chest, my palms became sweaty and I was certain they’d slip right off the tiny handlebars that carried my weight. Now, I am mostly fearless, I love risks and I am very competitive. So I wasn’t prepared for this part of the deal where I’d see my life tumble thousands of meters to the ground while my shell remained hooked to a wire. The truth is, I wasn’t in any real danger. I was secured to the wire before I even climbed on to those devilish looking steps. I just shouldn’t have looked down. This week I am drawing strong parallels with faith. I am living through an experience where I had looked and panicked at what I saw. But the truth is I am anchored to Christ and I’m not in any real danger. Just as I was super confident and even cocky leading up to our wild experience, in the same way, I am usually super confident when I quote scriptures or share God’s word. Until I look down. Looking down for you might be looking into your bank account. It might be reading the Dr’s report or reading an email from work that marks the end of your tenure. I know this is easily said than done, but please know that you are anchored. You will not fall to the ground. Your life flashing before you as it makes its descent into nothingness isn’t really going to happen. The physical evidence might be there- I was sweating and felt my hands sliding off those tiny handlebars. But even if my hands slid off, my entire body was fastened to the zip and I was actually safe and secure. Tonight I read a post that said we must soak ourselves in God’s word and commit it to heart. That’s our hook. That’s the part that gets hooked on to the wire. It’s our permanent connection with Christ. Did you see the video of Will Smith’s bungee jump out of a helicopter across the Grand Canyon? I totally got it when he looked down then turned back to the camera with the words “Never look down. Never look down. That was terrible”
