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Do you remember that old Indiana Jones movie: The Last Crusade? There's a scene where Jones's father has been mortally wounded, and the only hope of saving him is to drink water from the Holy Grail. As Indiana makes his way through several booby traps to try and retrieve the Savior's cup, he eventually comes to a great chasm. The clue bids him take a "leap of faith" from the lion's mouth. He sees the lion's head sculpture, but no way across the gorge.
Knowing he is his father's only hope, he repeats the words... "a leap of faith from the lion's mouth." He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and steps out over the abyss, there finding a bridge that had been disguised as an optical illusion. He stepped out with nothing but faith and found beneath, sure footing.
Faith life is like that sometinmes, isn't it?
This past week I have seen God at work so beautifully in a couple of new outreach endeavors at my church. We are a small congregation in a somewhat depressed area of the city, but God is moving in significant ways there. A few months ago we began a food pantry to meet the needs of those in our community. Honestly, I was skeptical (with our meager finances and number of volunteers) that we would be able to pull it off. It's a weekly commitment. I was fixed on the brown bag with two small fish and a few loaves, but God said, "I have some pretty MAD math skills... watch this!" And He has indeed mutiplied our humble efforts. With the support of volunteers from other churches and donations from individuals not even from our congregation, He is making it possible.
And, not only is it possible, it is a ministry that is thriving after only three short months.
I was focused on the chasm, feet firmly planted in the "No Leaping" zone, but God said, "Trust me. Take that first step. I won't let you fall." This past Monday I had the privilege of getting to pray with one of the individuals there for the pantry, and I began to see God's plan unfolding.
On Tuesday, one of the pastors and I delivered school supplies to the middle school across the street from our church. There was an idea birthed about a year and a half ago to open our doors to their latchkey kids after school in order to provide a safe place for them to be until their parents got home. It seemed such a mammoth task. How could we ever even begin to establish a relationship with the school? Doubt was getting to be an all too familiar place for me.
ME: "Hello chasm, we meet again."
GOD: "Seriously? You're gonna go there?"
And... with one simple inquiry and some boxes of school supplies, we were welcomed to begin a partnership with our neighboring campus. It's a small step, but it is a beginning with much promise.
Leaping has never been my strong suit. I'm fast approaching my sixty-third birthday, and you would think, that as a believer all my life I would have been better at this stuff by now. God has been so patient with me though. I don't know how He manages to keep His frustration in check, but He faithfully brings me along one step at a time.
It's like this... I see giants... EVERYWHERE in EVERYTHING! God has to constantly remind me that all I need are a few small stones, a sling, and HIS aim, and the giants WILL crumple.
It kind of gives one pause, doesn't it, to wonder what amazing things in life we actually leave on the table... because WE don't have the vision to imagine big things, or the confidence to pull them off. Maybe we need to quit taking pep talks from the reflection in the mirror and turn instead to the One who is limitless, the One who created everything... from nothing.
Now I'm not saying that we should just strike out on our own without prayer or without His Word of counsel, but when we have taken those steps and He nudges us forward in faith, we need to loosen our foothold, trust, and take that leap. What is impossible for man alone is never impossible with God. He won't ever bid us, "Come," without providing a sure place for our feet...
to land.
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