Walking A Tightrope
Even to your old age, and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:4 NIV
If you have ever been through a ropes course, you learn a lot about who you are-and even more about your co-workers. The course is there to teach you to work with each other, build trust, as well as grow your confidence.
Our coach laid out the obstacle course by stages and divided us up into teams; none of us were with our core work group. We had to do such things as balance on a log and change places with people on the log without falling or stepping off. Some leaders emerged immediately, others were followers.
Then came the climb, up a wall. Since I am short, the safety officer let me climb the rickety ladder instead of the wall. This was way out of my comfort zone-because I am afraid of heights. But that didn’t deter my determination to do the task. It was when I got to the top of the platform where fear immediately hit. I had to walk a tightrope (with a safety harness of course) across this area which seemed to go for miles. The instructor told me how to hold the guide rope and put one foot in front of the other. “Heel to toe and follow my-voice. Don’t look down-stay focus on me.” So much noise below me made for a major distraction. “Don’t pay attention to them, he yelled.” “Listen to me and you will make it across to the zipline.” Barely breathing I took one step and then-another-the instructor guiding me all the way. Finally, my foot stepped onto the platform. He changed out the safety gear, handed me the handle to the zipline, and said, “Now you are going to swing across to the other side. Don’t look down and just let yourself go. Feel the freedom of flying.”
I made it to the other side. Thinking back to that day, I thought how many times I haven’t obeyed God’s commands or put myself in His trust. I trusted the voice of someone I didn’t know that day to get to the other side of the obstacle course. God’s voice is more reliable than any voice. Sometimes I don’t understand where God’s leading me, but He will never let me fall because His love for me is too great. In our verse today-He proves that by using the word, “sustain” twice and my favorite part, “I will carry you.” I know the older and weaker I get; He will carry me through those hard times. Those same arms that healed people, loved others, and were stretched out on the cross to carry the weight of my sin will one day carry me home.
Mitzie Avera
