Walking in Faith

My friend, Sue Prince, wrote an interesting blog post today. I've been thinking since I read it about what it means to "walk in faith". The Bible does speak many times about walking in faith, but it also speaks of the walk of faith. It seems to me that it is an argument of semantics. Is our walk a verb or a noun? I think there is Biblical evidence that it is both. In 3 John 1:3, it is a verb: "It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth." And in Psalm 101:6, it is a noun: "My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me."

So what does it mean when people talk about a "leap of faith", and is this an indication of fear that the Lord will not follow through or an excuse not to walk with Him? Personally, I don't think so. When I see the term "leap of faith", I think of something extremely exciting, something that gets your blood pumping more than just the normal, everyday walking with the Lord. It's when He is giving you an opportunity to do something where you know you will be completely out of control and totally dependent on Him. While we are supposed to live in a state of total dependence, there are times when we feel it on a higher level than others. There isn't a question of whether or not the Lord is faithful or will catch or carry us. There is just a higher level of excitement about what He is about to do. And yes, with that excitement there may be more fear of the unknown, but it is an excited fear rather than a fear that holds us back from action.

In looking at our walk as a noun, it is a thing we are a part of rather than an action we do. The walk of faith is both, ironically. But when we look at it as our walk (noun), it is a thing born of relationship, our state of being with God all the time. Sometimes it is slower, sometimes faster, sometimes more fun or exciting, and sometimes sorrowful, but I believe that during that walk, the Lord takes joy in everything we do, whether it is jumping, skipping, twirling, dancing or simply stepping.

What I Learned About The Lord at 14,000 Feet

Just in case you missed it, I got to go skydiving this past weekend. Since everyone is sick of hearing about it, I will stop talking about it. After this post. Because there are many spiritual analogies that have swirled around in my brain since the jump yesterday afternoon. Now, before you say anything, let me start by saying that I know that due to human and/or mechanical failure or negligence (yes, I read the "You-Can't-Sue-Us-For-Any-Reason-Ever-And-Neither-Can-Your-Family-For-A-Thousand-Generations" agreement before signing it), the analogy breaks down at a certain point. But, for the sake of argument, let's just assume that everything goes perfectly and the analogy works. Thanks :)

For obvious reasons, the first many times you skydive, you don't get to just jump on your own. And you don't get a parachute. You get a guy that has a parachute. And hopefully he knows what he's doing. This is not a fun idea for people who feel the need to be in control. I tend to be a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl, but, if we are honest, we all have to admit, no matter where we fall on the control freak spectrum, that we like to have some semblance of control over our lives and the things that happen to us. Tandem skydiving is a total giving up of that control. Here's why:

1) You don't get to strap yourself into the harness or onto the person you're jumping with. They buckle & tighten the straps onto you, and eventually onto them. You have to trust that they are doing it right.

2) You don't get to change your mind. You get to choose to sign up, show up and get on the plane, but once you head in that direction, there is no turning back. You are strapped onto this person who is going to jump out of the plane whether you want to or not. You have no choice but to go with them.

3) You don't get the parachute. You can't reach the release even if you know where it is (which I didn't). You don't get to pick when it gets deployed and how high (or low) you'll be when it does.

4) You don't get to steer. Yeah, they let you hold the control straps (or whatever they're called. Experienced skydivers will have to bear with my ignorance), and they show you how to spin in both directions. But, no matter where your hands are, theirs never let go of the controls. You will go where they choose, because they know what they are doing and can override you at any moment.

5) You don't get to pick where you land. No matter how many places may look cool or fun or more appealing to you from 14,000 feet, they know where the target is. That is where they are taking you. Period.

So, I got to the airport and waited for quite a while because they had gotten backed up a bit. After about two hours I met David. This was the guy who was going to have my life in his hands. Literally. Thankfully, I liked him immediately. A lot. He was very calm and reassuring. His instructions were clear, and I knew exactly what he would do and what he expected of me in the plane and in the air. All I had to do was follow his lead, and I was completely assured that everything would be ok. Even when we got to the door, which is when I expected to have a short freak out, I-Don't-Really-Want-To-Do-This moment, I really wasn't scared at all. I trusted this stranger, whom I had known about an hour, completely.

He had me look at the camera, & then he jumped. We fell very fast for 60 seconds. I didn't know until I watched the video later that David was watching an altimeter (sp?) on his wrist so he would know when to pull the chute. The falling part was cool, but after the parachute opened and we were floating, it was the most amazing feeling ever. We were just hanging out above the earth, no one else around, able to see forever, and we could have a conversation as clear as in a quiet room. We spun around a few times and practiced our landing. He made sure that I knew exactly what I needed to know for this next step.

When we landed, he unhooked me and told me I was free to stand up. His job for this jump was done, but I sure hope that if I get to do it again, David will be my partner.

Our walk with the Lord should be very similar to my experience yesterday. We make the first choice to follow, and subsequent choices to obey. Turning back should never be an option. We should be willing to give Him total control. We can trust Him to know where we are going and how we need to get there. We don't need to be distracted by the shiny things that tempt us to head in a different direction. We should be listening for clear instructions for each step and trusting that He will reveal anything else we need to know when we need to know it. And when we land, we will be able to stand up and thank Him for the adventure, knowing that the next one will be even more faith-filled and exciting because He has proven Himself faithful and trustworthy. Man, machines, systems and equipment may fail, yet we trust them everyday as we go about our lives. How much more, then, should we trust our Lord and His Word, which never fail or forsake. Jump!