There’s a story about a man who stood at the bottom of a set of stairs with his young son standing at the top. He held his arms open and encouraged the boy to jump. The timid boy was hesitant, afraid to take the leap of faith. His father continued to encourage him, “jump, I’ll catch you.”
Screwing up his courage the boy jumped out, a big grin erupting on his face at the sheer exhilaration of the sensation of flying through the air. Suddenly, the father pulled his arms away, stepped back and allowed his child to crash to the floor. As the boy lay there crying, more shocked by the betrayal then physically hurt, his father stood over him and said, “You’ve learned a hard lesson today boy, one you’ll never forget. Don’t trust anyone.”
As someone who’s played the ‘jump game’ as we call it at home with all my kids over the years the first time I heard this I was first shocked and then angered. How could he? How could any father allow his child to fall like that?
Trust is a critical commodity
Trust is a critical commodity, one that defines who we are in many ways. If you are a trainer or coach your trustworthiness is as important as your skill. The problem is we’re living in a world where trust is harder to achieve. In the past year we’ve experienced the continued threat and cost of Covid, racial tension and political polarization. Trust has eroded. To many people they may believe that God, our Heavenly Father, does the exact same thing to us. He says, “Trust me,” then steps back. How do we respond?
We see a world around us filled with strife, tension, suffering and pain yet when we watch Netflix or surf social media we are presented with an ideal, largely created by advertisers, of what life should look like. It’s as if we’ve been promised God will catch us but when put to the test we find ourselves hurtling through the air.
Yes, it’s an issue of trust: do you trust God to catch you, no matter what, or don’t you? But there’s more. What is your expectation of God? What types of jumps do you expect Him to catch you from?
God will never leave or abandon us
God tells us that He will never leave us or abandon us (Deu.31:6). Jesus encouraged us not to be troubled but instead to trust in God and trust in Him (John 14:1). Paul reminds us that if we trust in the Rock we’ll never be put to shame (Rom.9:33). All throughout the scriptures God calls people to trust in Him. Salvation through Jesus is an act of trust, IF we confess with our mouths, IF we believe in our hearts (Rom.10:9) we will be saved.
But here’s where the tension rises; we live in a world that struggles to trust, especially in something unseen. May we be like Joshua, who trusted God a lot, and stated emphatically: I will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).
How do we trust God?
So how do we trust God then? Solomon, one of the wisest men to ever walk the earth told us to do it like this: “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” (Prov.3:5-6) Notice what he doesn’t say here? He doesn’t say it’ll be easy, we’ll get our own way or even that we’ll have all our questions answered but rather IF we trust him, take the leap of faith, He’ll be with us every step of the way. As the saying goes, He never promised us a smooth flight, just a safe landing.
God will catch us when we fall, and He’ll help us soar on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31) when we take the leap of faith. It may not look in the end the way you envision, hope for or even need, but he will. So the question then is: are you ready to leap into your Heavenly Father’s outstretched arms? He’s waiting and He WILL catch you. Take the leap!
