Fear looks; faith leaps

In January this year Sue and I experienced what could be described as a "trip of a lifetime" when we had the opportunity to visit my brother Phil and his family in New Zealand.  Although we were only there for just over two weeks, we brought back with us so many great memories.  We would love to visit again one day, but whether we will get another opportunity time alone will tell.

Phil lived then in a part of Auckland called Avondale (he and his wife Monika have since moved to another part of Auckland, probably to throw us off the scent in case we should ever decide to visit them again!)  They were fortunate in that the position of their house was in close proximity to Oakley Creek.  Two or three times during our stay with them we enjoyed a walk along the beautiful setting of the creek.

At one part of the Creek is a small waterfall.  At the top of the waterfall is a stone ledge, and it soon became clear that this provides an ideal platform from which some daring people jump into the water below.  As we walked by the waterfall one day, a few youngsters were having fun jumping into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.  As we watched, I noticed one young lady standing on the ledge.  For quite some time she stood motionless, staring at the water below.  It became clear that, although she wanted to join her friends in taking a leap from the ledge, fear was exerting a strong hold on her.

I watched, fascinated, as an internal battle raged in her heart and mind; I wondered whether her desire to jump would eventually overcome the fear which was holding her back.  After what seemed like an age, she took a deep breath and jumped, to the cheers of all those watching.  A few seconds later she emerged from the water, her face beaming: she had won the battle!

This memory came into my mind when I was reading a passage from the Biblical book of Joshua chapter 3 in preparation for a church service yesterday.  Joshua had led the people to the borders of the Promised Land.  The only thing preventing them entering the land was the River Jordan, which happened to be in flood.  God's instruction to Joshua was that the Priests should step foot into the Jordan, and then God would make a way for them to cross the river.  In other words, the priests had to first take the step of faith before they saw God meet their need.  

The famous old evangelist Smith Wigglesworth once said, "Fear looks; faith leaps."  Sometimes in the life of following Jesus we are called to take steps of faith before we can see how God will provide.  It's scary, but God always comes up trumps.  It took great courage (more than I have!) for the girl in Oakley Creek to take the leap of faith, but how happy she was that she had won the battle over her fear.  What a blessing it can be when we trust God and step out in faith as he calls us.