(1) "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. 3 For I am the Lord your God... God has promised to be with us, even in our most difficult times. And, if He has challenged us to step out of our comfort zone, to undertake what might be construed as a risky mission, we can trust in His faithfulness. Fear holds us back from experiencing what God has in mind for us, and as we build a reliance on God, we can have the confidence that it takes to walk where He has called for us to walk.
I haven't counted, but I've heard that there are some 365 references telling us to "fear not" or "do not be afraid". One of those instances is in Hebrews 13:
(5) He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
It was a big deal back in the 70's when Karl Wallenda made his tightrope walk across the Tallulah Gorge in Northeast Georgia - our family travelled there last year and actually found one of the footings for the tightrope - it was an amazing feat from the family patriarch, who had founded the Flying Wallendas in the 1940's.
Well, last Friday, his great-grandson Nik made a bold statement in carrying on the family tradition by walking on a tightrope over Niagara Falls in a nationally-televised event. He walked some 1800 feet, buffeted by 14 mile-per-hour winds and the mist rising from the falls 200 feet below. ABC reports that it garnered the biggest non-sports Friday night summer audience since 2005. 16 million people tuned in, and a crowd of tens of thousands of people witnessed the successful event in person.
A couple of made-for-TV moments: Wallenda, uncharacteristically, wore a harness, tethering him to the wire. And, ABC had placed a microphone on him. Repeatedly, he could be heard praying. Christianity Today, quoting a story from QMI Agency, said:
The King of the Wire puts his faith in the King of Kings...
The cross Wallenda wears around his neck every time he walks on a wire isn’t just a fashion statement, it’s a message about the religious beliefs the American performer holds close to his heart.
“I grew up in a born-again Christian family. A Bible-believing, God-fearing family. That’s the way I was raised and I find comfort and peace in that,” he said.It's reported that members of his family supported him in prayer throughout the walk.
I began to think about how people are drawn to the idea of risk and adventure. Millions were glued to their TV sets on Friday to see a man, a God-fearing man, take a risk and use his platform to testify to God's greatness. And, where there is risk, there is opportunity for God to do amazing things. I do believe that from time to time, the Lord will call us out of the comfort zone and use us to fulfill His plan and bring glory to Him.
I think of an instance where a particular disciple was called to take a risk - Peter, in a boat with the other disciples, saw Jesus walking on the water. In Matthew 14, we read:
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Risk is a very appealing concept, and when we do take the steps "out of the boat" or on the tightrope of life, sort of speak, it's critical that we keep our eyes on Jesus, built up in faith, and not trusting in our own human effort. The Christian life is an adventure, and perhaps God is calling you to take a Spirit-inspired risk so that we might honor Him.
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