* Free-falling

Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God.

Isaiah 50:10

You may have heard the story of the mountain climber who was so good at climbing, that he would often climb alone. He trusted his own ability and was confident that his competency would see him through any tests or challenges that might arise while climbing.

One late afternoon, while climbing down a mountain, a freakish winter storm blew in and caught him unaware. Temperatures dropped below freezing so quickly that the climber initiated emergency measures to save himself - turning on the automatic tracking beacon, and then free-falling at break-neck speed to try to get to the bottom of the mountain. In the speeding spiral downward, he lost the backpack that had his flashlight and extra rope in it. And when he jerked to a stop at the end of his rope, there was no daylight left, no ground beneath his feet, no flashlight, and no more rope. He dangled for a while, feeling his body go numb in the extreme temperature that resulted from the freak storm.

Finally, he cried out to God, "God, if You're out there, I need Your help."

God's response was immediate. "I'm here. Will you trust Me above all else?"

"Yeah, sure...anything just get me down."

"Okay," God replied. "Cut the rope."

"I can't cut the rope," the man bellowed. "I have no idea how far up I am, at the very least, I could break my ankles or my legs, then where would I be?!?"

"Trust Me. Cut the rope."

The man argued, "The first rule of mountain-climbing is to trust the rope. Never let go." 

God countered with, "Without faith, it is impossible to please Me. Cut the rope."

"I can't." the mountain climber replied, tightening his grip on the rope. "It goes against everything I know. If I can hang on, they'll track me." And he did not cut the rope.

Thanks to the automatic tracking beacon, the search party did find him the next morning... Frozen to death, clinging to the rope...six inches above where his backpack lay on the ground, ten yards from his SUV.

Are you free-falling in a speeding spiral because of something that occurred unexpectedly in your life? Will you trust God no matter how overwhelming the odds appear to be?

Prayer:

Father,

         We commit our hearts and our heads to trust You over everything and anything else we see hear or know. You alone are God and we worship You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen