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Excuses. That is what I heard from many people who sat on this platform before me. Excuses as to why they could not take the leap and countless questions about the safety of ziplining. I had seen it from the ground level so many times. It really did not look very high. I could not understand why these people were so afraid, why they would not just go for it. I felt confident I could go for it without any fear.
However, now standing on the platform in the top of the tree – I understood. My legs felt so wobbly while I stared down at the ground far below me. The instructor for the zipline, who happened to be my dad, told me to sit at the edge of the platform. I wanted to look at him and say, “Are you crazy.” Instead, I somehow managed to get my shaky legs into a seated position.
I had seen others sit on this platform for what seemed like hours just trying to get the will power to override their fear and push off. My mind was made up. I was not going to be one of them. So, as soon as my dad said go, I went for it. The fear was now gone and in its place was a feeling of ecstasy.
A reluctant disciple
In one of my recent Bible readings, I came across this story of Jesus calling disciples. In Matthew 8:21-22 we read,
Another of the disciples said to him, ‘Lord let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
In this story the disciple who was called wanted to follow Christ but…… He felt like he had to get his life in order first.
Am I reluctantly making excuses?
This passage made me stop and wonder if there were things in my life that I felt I needed to get right before following Christ. I know a lot of times I feel like I need to do something that will make me worthy, but I have it backwards in my head. The only way I can find worthiness is through coming to Christ.
What does ziplining have to do with this?
Going back to the story of the zipline, those who sat on the edge of the platform seemed to expect they needed to overcome their fear first before they ziplined. I realized through watching them the only way I was going to overcome my fear was to simply jump.
When we are called to follow Christ, we are called just as we are. The only way we become more than what we are is through facing our fears and jumping into the loving arms of Christ.
Christ is our ultimate example.
It is incredible to read about the people who literally dropped everything and jumped.
Even Jesus left his home in Heaven and came down to complete a pretty scary mission. In the chapter titled, “Saying ‘Yes’ to Jesus” out of our book, Princess Training, we have a list of excuses Jesus overcame to complete His mission. The list is as follows:
- “Are you ever lonely? Jesus was deserted by his friends. Matthew 26:56
- Are you busy? Amid all of His busyness, Jesus left the crowds to spend time with his Father. Matthew 14:23
- Are you hated or unpopular? The Pharisees and Sadducees tried to kill Jesus countless times. Crowds of people mocked, spit on, and reviled Jesus at the time of His crucifixion.
- Are you afraid? Jesus prayed that God would take the cup of death away from him, and while he prayed this, his sweat was like drops of blood. Luke 22:44
- Do you face hard temptations? Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread after not eating any food for forty days and forty nights. Matthew 4:1-4
- Are you suffering or on the verge of death? Jesus still worked while hanging on a cross. Luke 23:34, 43, 47; John 19:25-27″
Jesus overcame these excuses to show us it is possible. We do not have to be afraid of jumping because God has got us.
New year, no excuses
As we are heading into a new year, it may be a good time to reflect on what things might be holding us back and keeping us from taking a leap of faith into the arms of our Savior. Here is one final word of encouragement from 2 Timothy 1:7 to close out this post,
“for God gave us not a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
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