Will the Rope Hold?
Do you feel like you’re at the end of your rope? Talk to a mentor.
The summer between my 3rd and 4th year of university I worked at Yellowstone National Park. It was a great summer, full of adventures and new experiences.
On a day off, I had signed up for a day long class in rock climbing. I was successfully making my way up the side of a mountain when the instructor surprised me with an unexpected challenge, when he said, “I want you to push yourself off and fall on the rope!” Questioning why he would ask me to do this, I hesitated, and he wisely pointed out that, “You will never be a good rock climber until you can trust that the rope will hold you. Push yourself off and fall on the rope.”
I was afraid. Obviously, my trust was in my ability to use my hands and feet to scale the mountain. The rope was a secondary source of security, in case I slipped (which I did not plan to do!). I eventually did let go my hand holds, and I’m here to tell you that the rope held!
There are times when God seems to say the same thing to me as my instructor did that day. “Take the step, release your hands on what you are holding and see that I’m trustworthy.” The writer of the Psalms wrote, “O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the person who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8)
Just as I would never be a good rock climber without experiencing that the rope will hold. The same is true of my spiritual life. I will never be a responsive Christ follower if I am unwilling to let go of whatever I am grasping when God says, “Let go, trust me.”
Are you willing to let go of the things that give you security? We can only experience God’s goodness when we take those, sometimes scary steps that take faith. Do you trust God is able to hold you securely when you let go of the things that provide comfort or security? What step is God asking you to take? Could it be he is asking you to let go of a relationship, finances or a position … A thought that comforts me is God holds the universe together it is likely he can provide all I need to hold life together … Enjoy the adventure!
Question: Do you believe your rope, God, will hold you during tough times?
Yes i believe that God is holding me through the whole tough time of mine since birth called my life here on earth.God has taken hold of my heart tight since saving me. I sometimes want to give up but i can’t. God,just won’t let me however down i feel. I know now that my relationship with Christ most definately can not be based on how i feel. He is my refuge and my stregnth in time of troubles,doubts and need. I have needed Him my whole life and am so grateful that now i do. I fail in ways still at times, that the world would say is no big deal. It may be considered to the world, being a normal human being,but as for me i nolonger want to think like the world and my wrestling with things i count as a blessing.I must keep trusting God because for me it is the only way i can endure this life here on earth. I pray He make a way to show the world all He can still do with my life because i do believe He is not done with me yet. Please pray God would help me to despite some depression setting in,to knock down the wall of depression and lift me back up for His glory making a way to utilize me best. Pray He would put the right people in my life to help me reach the dream and that can vision it and encourage me. Pray God would help me financially and soften my fiances heart. Please pray for my daughter ashley that she be drawn closer to Jesus,and protected. Pray for my sister kristins Salvation that she continue to care for my nephew and have peace. Lastly if you would pray for my abusers from childhood that the Love of Jesus fill their hearts and they become transformed if not already. Thanks be to God for you all. Tom
Again, God challenge me through this devotional. Believe that very successful people, who sometimes do “something-againts-the theory-but succed”, were guided by strong faith that God is a reliable rope. sometimes, we just need to fly away and let God do His magic. All glory must be to the Lord.
One of the most important lessons I have learned in my life is that Christ will give us the strength to deal with the situation that we are and not remove the situation. When Christ was crucified on the cross for us he chose to stay there and all he had to do was call on the legions of angels and all his tormentors would have been slain! Christ gives us the strength through the Holy Spirit so we can grow and the rope never breaks!