“Wrap the rope around your waist like this. Stand with your back toward the ledge and plant your feet shoulder width. Now lean back slightly to test your rope. If tied correctly it will hold.” A couple of people, including me, rechecked our knots. “Once you have confidence that your knots are secure, lean outward over and away from the rock face like this.” He leaned back to subdued groans of the crowd and tilted at a 90 degree angle to the rock face. He pulled himself upright and asked for a volunteer. Everyone diverted their eyes. “Perkins, why don’t you give it a shot?”
I was reminded of an old western where the colonel had his troops lined up. “It’s a dangerous mission. In all likelihood you won’t come back alive. All volunteers step forward.” In unison, all but one step backward. The unwitting volunteer stood there all alone. Obediently I stepped toward the ledge.
“Check and double check your knots,” the instructor said. He reached around me and adjusted my straps tight enough for me to sing soprano. “Make sure you are wearing your gloves. If the rope slips through your hands in a rapid descent it will burn the skin right off.” Rapid descent: that’s just another way to say falling.
I turned my back to the ledge, properly spaced my feet, and bending my knees…”Perkins, don’t bend your knees, it will make you unstable. Don’t lock them either.” It is an experience hard to explain. You are looking up toward the sky, and what’s behind you is a mystery. You are suspended backward and a slight miscalculation could send you plummeting to your death. At the same time the adrenaline kicks in, your heart beats rapidly, and every muscle is tense with anticipation. As instructed I took my first step backward, and then another until I was lined up with the rock wall. The rest of the descent was uneventful. All the anxiety was tapped into that moment when you lean backward and take your first step.
“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7).
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8).
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son.” (Hebrews 11:17).
“By faith, Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,” (Ephesians 4:26).
“By faith, If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” (Matthew 18:15).
“By faith, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist,” (2 Timothy 4:5). (Words in italics I added).
Taking the first step toward anything where the outcome is unknown, your heart rate accelerates, your palms sweat, and your throat goes dry. You are faced with a decision. Do you trust that God knows what He is doing and take the first step of faith? Or do you hesitate, ignore, turn aside, hide in the background or run from God? The passage, “God works all things together for good toward those who love Him and are called according to his purpose,” sounds good, but how do I I know for sure? How do I know this is His will? How do I know that I won’t be rejected? How do I know that I won’t be harmed? If I have learned anything over the years it is this. “Trust the rope and have faith in your instructor.” The rope is the word of God, and God is our instructor. If the Bible give a command we step out in faith knowing that God has our back. In that moment, right before you act, when the anxiety is at its height, and everything in your head says it won’t work, that is the moment of decision. The step into the unknown is faith. What is God calling you to do in faith? It might not make sense, but you know it’s what you need to do. Go ahead, take the step. I’m just saying…
From The Bunker Day 64.
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