Walking in faith is like living life on a balance beam. The surface of the beam is sturdy and secure. The path is narrow. The first, second and even the hundredth time of walking out onto the beam can cause even the most confident to pause with timidity. The potential to fall is great. Yet when a gymnast’s eyes are fixed and focused straight ahead, her balance and footing fall into place with greater ease and poise. The potential to fall is still great. But her focus on what is ahead provides balance and confidence to walk on.
The view from the top of the beam can be staggering when considering the potential to fall. Yet the only way a gymnast’s skills are honed is by pushing pass the fear of falling and keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead.
As a gymnast walks across the beam, the wobbling of her legs a reminder that faith takes exercise, and practice. Faith is a muscle. Faith needs to be strengthened and stretched. Faith requires focus. Over time, through practice, faith takes its position in the life of believers providing balance, security, and sure-footing.
As believers we are called to live out our faith in the balance of hope, trusting in His promises, while leaning on the evidence that is unseen or unexplained. This is a tricky balance when so often the evidence we SEE does not support the promises we know in our hearts. What we see does not support our hope.
It is the seen evidence – the realization we are four feet in the air, on a skinny plank – that calls HOPE into question. But our faiths confidence grows as we, like the gymnast, fix our eyes straight ahead on Christ.
When we walk out onto the beam of faith we should expect to waiver. We should not be surprised by our loss of faith from time to time when the seen evidence becomes overwhelming. But we also should recognize each wavering step l is an opportunity for faith and confidence to grow.
What would it look like if we, the followers of Christ, push past our fear of “what if I waver or fall” and were okay with the wavering of our faith? What if we recognize that this journey of faith is not always clear cut and sometimes the evidence, we are hoping so badly for does not show up?
Are you facing a situation that has you losing hope because of the evidence before you? Will you allow God to use this situation in your life to push past your fears of “what if” and have courage to step into deeper faith? Are you fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, to help you find your balance and establish your faith’s sure-footing?
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