When I was about 7 or 8, our pastor
asked for a volunteer for his sermon illustration. I raised my hand not
knowing what His plan for me was. He asked me to stand up on the first
pew with my back towards him. "Now, cross your arms and close
your eyes. When I say ready, I want you to fall backwards and I will
catch you."
That seemed easy enough to me,
until I heard his voice somewhere in the auditorium say,
"OK,
Hannah, fall back."
"No,"
I rejected, worried. "You won't catch me."
"Yes,
I will. I promise I won't let you fall."
I knew that he was no longer standing behind me, how could
he catch me? I was scared and began to cry as the congregation encouraged
me to do what I thought was impossible. Then
I heard my pastor say,
"Hannah,
open your eyes and see who is standing behind you."
I
turned to see My Dad who had been there all along, waiting for me to trust him
although unseen...waiting to catch me. How foolish I felt in not trusting
and disappointed that I had missed this opportunity for my Dad to catch me.
"Would
you do this for Me?"
"Sure,
I will do that for You, God, " you say.
Then
we find out what God wants us to do. First, it may seem easy enough or
maybe right away the difficulties are apparent. Finally as we're ready to
do what God has asked of us and we're starting to pursue it, we begin to doubt
God's plan: we're too scared, it seems just too hard, we convince ourselves
someone else is more capable than we are, we think it won't work. So we
give up and feel foolish for missing out on an opportunity. We are
saddened and disappointed when we look back to see that our heavenly Daddy was
there behind us all along…waiting, waiting for us to trust Him even
though we could not see Him...waiting to catch us. Sometimes in life
obeying God may mean that we are going to fall, but that is when God steps in
to show us that He is there. When we think it is ridiculously impossible,
His Word and our brothers and sisters in Christ encourage us to do it
anyway. God is there to catch us and to show His power through our life. *The
One who loves us and gave Himself for us is in charge of our lives. In
ordinary circumstances and impossible situations, God can reveal His
power.
Take
a moment to reflect on God doing the impossible in the lives of people recorded
in the Bible. Think of Noah, what if God
didn't make it rain like He said He would. Noah really would have been
the biggest fool in His day, but he wasn't. What about Abraham? He
was 100 and Sarah in her 90s. Surely God's promise of a son would not
come true, but it did! Many times the Royal line of David could have been
wiped out, but God preserved it so this promise of the Messiah coming from this
family would come true. In Acts 12:1-11, we find Peter in Jail on a death
sentence because of His faith. Yet, he was asleep, willing to die for
Christ, trusting God that He knew what was best. Peter thought it was a
dream when the Angel from God released him and even those praying for his
deliverance were surprised to see him at the door.
Don't be
afraid to do God's will, if His word and His people are confirming this to
you. Sometimes you have to take that step or fall in faith, trusting in
our God to make the impossible, possible! Trust me, you won't be
disappointed!
*Our Daily Bread, Aug. 21, 2013
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