Jump
“without faith it is impossible to please God”
Hebrews 11:6
If we want to please God, we are going to have to learn to
grow in faith.
Even before my kids could swim I used to put them at the
edge of the pool. I would be in the pool
and tell them to “jump, daddy will catch you.”
Then I would move out of the way and let them drown (just kidding). I would catch them every time and then have
them do it again.
At first they hesitated to jump. Fear griped their heart. They weren’t sure they could trust me or if I
was strong enough to hold them up and keep them from drowning. But after one or two jumps they put complete
faith in me, that I would not let them drown.
Similarly God will also ask us to jump (stretch our faith)
so that He can catch us and our faith will grow. Stretching our faith involves attempting
things for God in which success can only come through God’s power.
Paul jumped when God asked him to be the Apostle to the
gentiles – to go on missionary trips to preach the gospel all around the
gentile world. His faith was definitely
stretched as seen through his recollection:
We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that
we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of
death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who
raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will
deliver us. On him we have set our hope [trust] that he will continue to deliver us
2 Corinthians 1:8-10
Trust God the next time He tells you “JUMP”.