Walking the Tightrope

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

Have you ever seen a high wire act? I always think to myself, “That must take a lot of confidence to step out onto that wire every time with nothing except a stick.” It becomes even more incredible when they perform without a safety net in place. That takes real courage.

The movie The Walk, is about a French aerialist named Philippe Petit who walked a tightrope between the twin towers. He was suspended in midair with nothing between him and the ground and in the movie; he does it all with a hurt foot. What an incredible amount of faith he must have had to take that first step.

In order to get to this point, he first had to train. So that he would gain confidence, he had to have a safety net below him because he would inevitably fall. Even when we learn to walk as children, we fall down before we learn to keep our balance and walk. Our parents walk along side of us holding our hands so that we do not fall but it is only when we do fall that we learn to stand on our own two feet.

Our lives in Christ are much like a tightrope walker. We walk through life never fearing because we have God as our safety net. We become complacent and this makes way for spiritual laziness. How can we ever expect to build our faith when we always have that net to catch us when we fall? So, in order to teach us real faith, God sometimes takes away the net and still expects us to take the first step. It is a lesson in humility meant to teach us faith.

I have been out on that tightrope and looked down only to find no net is there. I cry out to God to reveal Himself to me but my voice echoes back to me from the silence. God has withheld Himself in order that I may learn to walk with nothing more than just my faith. He may be silent but He is never absent. How can we ever really learn faith while we always know that He will be there to bail us out? We can’t.

I am not suggesting that God will abandon us, because He has promised that He never will, but rather He pulls away from us to teach us. St. John of the Cross called it a Dark Night [of the Soul]. These dark nights are necessary on any journey toward Christ. They build our character and at the same time God reveals more of His character to us through them.

At the time of creation, God decided that we were to be created in His image; therefore we work to build our character to be like His. Even in the tough times, we look to Him for strength and refuge from the storm. God has not abandoned me; He is simply allowing me to learn to trust Him more. He tests my faith and strength by allowing me to walk alone for a short time.

Perhaps you are experiencing a dark night of the soul right now. Perhaps you are struggling with many of the things that life throws at us daily. Rest assured that God has promised His continued support and love. He has demonstrated His love time and time again. He did not send His Son to the cross for no reason. He did it because He loves us so much that He wants to spend eternity with us. So the next time you feel all alone and that God is not listening, just remember to “Be still and know I am God.”

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.   Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)

And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.                                               2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV)

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.  Isaiah 12:2 (NKJV)

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for your great mercy and grace. I thank you for all the glorious things You have done for us. You created us in Your image and placed us amongst the rest of Your creation so that we may enjoy it. You give us grace even though we do not deserve it, and You even sent Your Son to shed His blood on Calvary for us so that we would not have to be separated from you by sin. I thank you for always being there when I need You. You may not always speak to me like I want, but I know that these are the times that You are teaching me to walk upright in faith. I pray that you bless each and every person that reads this that they may experience You the way I do. There is no greater joy than to serve You. In all things, I will give You the glory forever. Amen.