Although you won't find this quote directly, there are many, many times when God calls His people to an extraordinary faith. Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains ... God's faithfulness is new every morning ... we walk by faith not by sight ... it is by grace we are saved through faith ...
I am convinced that God always enjoys pushing our faith. These days, I think my faith is being pushed beyond my capability to respond thusly. However, it is my faith and trust in Him that brings Him the greatest delight.
My current family of three (living under one roof) is enjoying our summer staycation. For those unfamiliar with this word, it is going on vacation without the going ... it is enjoying activities and excursions usually embarked upon from a distant location via plane flights, long drives and hotels, but from the comfort of one's own home. With the exception of no room service, so far, our staycation has been fun. Our choice to explore from our home base has its foundation purely in economics. For today, our four children NOT living under our roof have significantly depleted our vacation fund, thus sending us into the world of "creative traveling." And I must admit, our journey today was just such an adventure. We enjoyed outer space OUTSIDE our own Milky Way Galaxy, swimming with a variety of sharks in a number of wonderful locations, archaeological digs, a trip through the Old West on a cattle drive, a journey through the Barnett Shale while North Texas was underwater and, my favorite (or maybe NOT), an opportunity to experience the ultimate thrill stunts!
It is "Adrenaline Rush" that is my subject ... an OmniMax movie that truly captures the reality of its title. Experiencing, in my opinion, the BEST OnmiMax on the planet (I think it may be the original in North Texas) presenting such a feature film did just what it promised ... I'm just now coming down from the rush!
As the experience occurred in the Museum of Natural SCIENCE and History in Forth Worth, Texas, let me tell you what I learned about adrenaline. It is a hormone released as our brain's neurotransmitters release serotonin into our brain. There are MAO's that float around up there somewhere. Some people have a lesser amount of MAO's ... they tend to be those who thrive on activities that use great amounts of adrenaline ... in other words, THRILL-SEEKERS.
As I am not one of those ... I'm convinced I actually have an overabundance of MAO's. I have NO need for thrills beyond what normal life provides me ... I experienced enough of a rush simply driving back to Dallas during rush hour. That should give you some idea of just how little it takes to produce plenty of serotonin for my taste! After an hour of more parachute jumps than I can recount, we ended our adventure on a mountain range in Norway. Probably the craziest people on the planet, actually took us Base Jumping. For those of you NOT "in the know", Base Jumping is when someone stands on a perfectly secure mountain and jumps off of a cliff. They do have a parachute, but I'm not sure how they remain conscious in order to pull the rip-cord. We ended our adventure with a real opportunity to see how it would feel to stand there, then jump. The camera took us over the edge of the cliff, into the 4,000+ foot ravine, where, you'll be glad to know, our parachute did open and we landed safely.
"What does this story have to do with faith?" you may be asking. Well, as I watched I wondered just how brave I really am. I was reminded of the book of Joshua where God told Joshua more than once to be courageous. Not to be terrified or discouraged. But be strong and courageous. Although I don't think God wants to test my "faith" by asking me to Base Jump, I do think He may ask me to step off a ledge in my life when I'm not quite sure where I'll land. As we stood on that ledge in the movie and waited to take the first step into the unknown, I have to say, my adrenaline was rushing. I had all the physiological markers of fear and uncertainty.
What is God asking you to do today? Where is He calling out to you to jump from? Is He asking you to leave your comfort zone and join Him on an adventure into the great unknown? Is He asking you to step off a ledge when all you see are clouds below you? Does He want you to follow a dream or passion He has given you that you've never had the courage to pursue?
What does courageous faith look like in your life? You may be flying along in a perfectly safe airplane ... familiar, tested, proven, predictable ... a seasoned pilot in charge. Doesn't take much faith to remain in the plane does it? But is God asking you to open the door, strap on your chute and jump? Seems crazy, doesn't it? Great risk requires great faith. What giant step of faith is God asking you to take? Are you willing to take that step and trust Him with the result? I've often heard that when God asks you to step off the edge of the cliff, He'll either provide a place for your foot to land, or give you wings to fly. I think I'm ready to take that step. I'm ready to soar with wings as eagles. What about you?
Be blessed, dear friend!
