A few years ago I went bungee jumping. It was pretty awesome.
Before I made the jump, I sat on the sidelines listening to a friend, Amy, have a conversation with a bungee employee. She said, “is this really safe?”
He replied, “Of course! In 20 years we haven’t had any deaths or serious injuries.”
Meanwhile, I was busy scoffing on the sidelines. “Of course it is safe! How else could they run a successful business if it wasn’t safe?”
It was easy to trust in the bungee from the sidelines. I had nothing to lose! But then it was my turn…
I walked to the edge of the bridge. The river suddenly seemed way too far away. My head began to spin, and maybe it was just my legs shaking, but I’m pretty sure the canyon started shifting. Amy’s question suddenly made a lot of sense!
When it actually mattered, my “strong trust” in the bungee’s safety suddenly disappeared.
As you may be able to guess from the picture, I finally took the plunge. It was scary, it was exciting, and I survived!
My wife and I have had a similar experience on the larger scale of life. We’ve always talked about how important it is to trust God with your life. We knew He provided our income, food, lodging, and everything else we needed.
It was easy to believe that on the sidelines. It was easy to believe God would provide when we already had work, a home, and food.
But then we stepped up to the edge: we moved to New Zealand. We came here with no work, no home, and no food. Suddenly, trusting God took on a whole new meaning! We’ve been nervous, stressed, afraid, and forced to trust God!
Despite our fears, God still provides.
It’s been really amazing to see how He does it. For instance, two families have taken us (strangers) into their homes and fed us incredibly well. Someone lent us a vehicle, so we have transportation. We don’t have jobs yet, but we have great leads and there are some really positive conversations happening.
Regardless of our life situation, God still provides. He is bigger than both our successes and failures.
I really want to challenge you: Are you truly trusting in God alone to provide? Is your trust just in word or also in heart? Do you say you trust God with your provision, but really trust in your job or savings or intelligence?
John 10 says that we are sheep, and there is only one Good Shepherd. None but Jesus can provide us with life to the full. Remember that no matter what happens in life, he is still good and will care for you as you need.
I’m not saying you need to quit your jobs and move across the world, but you need to pray and search your heart to make sure that you trust God alone.
What do you trust in place of God?
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Wow! Talk about trusting God. My wife and I are planning a move across country next month, and it’s definitely going to require trusting God, definitely nothing like half way around the world though. I’m curious, what was the number one reason you decided to move to New Zealand?
Thanks for the comment Joshua!
I’m not sure exactly what the top one is, but here are a few of them:
1) We wanted to go on an adventure as a married couple
2) We loved New Zealand: the people, the landscapes, the everything. We want to be a blessing here in some small way.
3) We prayed about it. A lot. Every day for a couple years. The more we prayed, the more we wanted to do it and the more doors opened. So we went for it!