Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed. ” John 20:29
there was one story that was emailed to me and had really struck me head on. it was about a man who tried to climb a mountain all alone. it was getting late when he got lost along his way. since a storm was coming, there was darkness all around him. no stars and no moonlight to guide him. still he pressed on until he fell into the rocky side of the mountain. he was entangled with the rope that he brought along, that was tied to his waist. and he hanged there for dear life. he was terrified with no help in sight. and so, he remembered to pray hard enough that God answered him right away. He told the man that if he wanted to be saved, he must cut the rope. But the man did not follow God’s instruction. The next day, he was found by rescuers frozen to death by the icy cold night. He was only a few feet away from the ground and could have walked to the nearest shelter just a near distance from where he was found dead… if only he had just cut his rope.
the story led me to ask myself, if i were this man, would i follow what God had told me to do? or would i be as afraid to let go?
for me, the want to climb a mountain on my own, represents pride. the storm stands for the trials and difficulties in my life. the darkness represents hopelessness. getting lost is living without the Word of God in our life. the rope is the attachment that keeps me from totally trusting in the Lord; the rope that i keep on holding on to, with the belief that it is the only way. and it is not. JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY.
the true test of our faith is when that Someone whom we trust to save us, does so in a manner that is contrary to our expectations. the Lord answers all our prayers for help. sometimes He does so with urgency. but sometimes He waits for the right moment. and there are times that His answer is NO, because these are the times when what we pray for would bring us only more harm than good. so when He does not give in to what we pray for, we have to be thankful that He didn’t. because it is always a blessing in disguise.
Jesus gave us an excellent example of what true and genuine trust is, when He died on the Cross. He is God. Jesus can save Himself, but He did not. He followed the will of the Father because He trusted in His grand plan. And that was to save mankind…to save us… to save YOU… and ME! and all because of His great love for us.
So the next time we are in a life or death situation; or when we are in trouble and don’t know what to do next; when we are asked to cut our ropes again, let us always remember that Jesus died for us on that Cross. Must not the Father who sacrificed His Son for us, be more than willing to just simply catch us when fall?
The distance of us hanging on to dear life to the safer ground below, depends on our faith to JUST LET IT GO…
and LET GOD.