Monday I wrote about fear (and btw have you seen those scary Orkin commercials about bed bugs??!!) and (more seriously) following a God who doesn’t fit our formulas.
As I’ve been facing my own fear at following Jesus I keep thinking about this story I heard a million years ago about a little boy trapped in the bedroom of his home which was on fire.
He was at the window, the home swallowed up in flames, no way out. Smoke everywhere.
Below, a fireman called up to him, “Jump son! I’ll catch you! I’m here!”
The little boy screamed “No! I can’t SEE you!!!”
“I know,” yelled the fireman, “but I can see YOU! Jump!”
Cheesy story? Maybe. But it makes me think about the question fear asks of God.
The underlying question in the little boy’s heart was the question that fear asks:
What if…?
What if you don’t see me?
What if you miss?
What if you’re not strong enough?
What if I get hurt?
What if I look silly?
What if You catch me but it’s not a soft fall, or it isn’t the exact scenario I would like?
Sometimes I can’t see God. And I’m afraid to jump.
Lord are You there? Do You see me? Are you big enough, strong enough…and do You love me enough to catch me?
(again, John, not me, bungee jumping at Victoria Falls, Zambia)
What does Love ask of you today that’s scary?
To go someplace uncomfortable? Talk to someone uncomfortable? Serve in way that’s uncomfortable?
Quit a job, or stay in a job that’s hard? Give something away? Build a bridge, or shake the dust off your feet?
Are you afraid to jump? I am. And I’m thinking about the lyrics from this Nicole Nordeman song:
But what if you’re wrong?
What if there’s more?
What if there’s hope you never dreamed of hoping for?
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
What if He’s more than enough?
What if it’s love?
What are you afraid of?
