JUMPING IN IS EASY WITH THE LORD BEHIND US

The Lord will be our strength as we jump into uncharted territory.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES             By Sally Bair

Jumping in

During the recent hot spell, whether we had air conditioning or not, many of us wanted to jump into the lake to cool off. Beaches everywhere attract us when the air sizzles with heat and humidity. In other weather conditions, such as during high winds or storms, we wouldn’t think of jumping in.

Sometimes we’re forced to jump into the water, such as when a boat capsizes. My son and four others were rescued during the winter of 1996 while returning from a crab fishing expedition on the Bering Sea. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew escorted them, though not easily, into the safety of a helicopter while they faced 16-foot seas and hurricane-force "williwaw" winds.

The fishermen hadn’t wanted to jump off the boat. They waited in comfort as it took them home in time for Christmas. Then the weather forced them to spend exhausting hours chipping ice from equipment on board. Finally the captain and crew were forced to jump from their 72-foot vessel into a tiny life raft.

It's hard to imagine having to face such a choice. Sometimes life on land also can be likened to facing a storm, jumping from a seemingly safe situation into a scary looking place—exchanging the shelter of a tree that's vulnerable to lightning for a rain-soaked ditch, taking a lesser job in order to reduce the stress in one's life, moving from a large, well-loved, comfortable home to a smaller, more manageable residence.

We all face changes in our lives that, though scary, will bring better things. It's up to us to let go of our comfortable yet tenuous hold on life and jump into untested waters.   

In Psalm 20:7 David wrote, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." Weapons of war, money in the bank, 72-foot boats may seem to be the answer to security and safety. But like the sinking Eldan, things are not always as they seem. Paul tells it this way: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal … we live by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 4:18 and 5:7)

Lord, forgive us for placing our trust in the bigger, safer looking things and not in You. Help us remember that the things of this world will pass away but the things of Your Kingdom are eternal. In Jesus' name, amen.