Leap of Faith
I was young and adventurous!! (At least that is what I told myself.) I had just finished a trip with Youth With A Mission when we decided to visit a waterfall that we had jumped from many times before. I took the leap, meaning to prove that I was just as brave as any other person out there. It was a 35 foot waterfall, and as I came down I hit something hard. 6 feet under the water there was a shelf that both my feet came crashing down on. I surfaced from the water and the only thing I could get out of my mouth was “I can't feel my legs!!”. My body was in pure shock. Being the young and naive girl that I was, I had no idea what had just happened. It took five guys to carry me back, which one should note, that the “walk back” was really a mile long hike. A few days later, I found out that I had not only broken both of my heels, but shattered them. I was in a wheelchair for 3 months before I was able to re-learn how to walk. I began with a walker, then went on to crutches, to finally taking small baby steps.
Flash forward a few years to today, I am praying and asking The Lord to fill me, and to fall afresh on me. I received a vision of Him standing on the edge of a cliff holding His hand out and asking me to take a risk, to trust Him and follow. A cliff, of all things! To this day, I cringe when I hear or see someone leaping off of a rock, and will forever be haunted by those memories because I took a risk and jumped off of a waterfall. I tell him “No, Lord! This is the scariest thing you could ask me to do after what I have been through.” Yet, He asked me again. I grab His hand and squeeze my eyes shut, as tight as they go, and leap. He is there with me, falling, gripping my hand tight the whole way down. I opened my eyes and declared to myself, “I am ready, ready to risk it all for Him”. A few hours later, I was reading the book Jesus Calling and this is an excerpt from today’s devotion -- “Be willing to go out on a limb with me. If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be.”
I believe this is what He is asking of me and even more so with Awaken Retreat. I feel at the edge of cliff, and all that lays before me is the unknown. To be honest, it’s scary and I feel completely unequipped, but we serve a powerful God whose strength shines through us in our weakest moments. I believe with all that is within me, that the heart and purpose of Awaken is a vision that The Lord has for all His beautiful children. He desires that the captives be set free. He desires us to walk so fully in our identity in Him, that the enemy no longer has the power to steal, kill, or destroy.
What lies are you believing? What wounds are you allowing to captivate your life and mold who you are? Jesus came to“bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, an oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” [Isaiah 61:1b-3] He desires for you to live life to the fullest. [John 10:10] How many of us are actually living a life that is worthy of the term “to the fullest”? With the way our culture buys into all the lies of hollywood and social media, I would say not many of us are truly living out this so called “full” life.
When we’re talking about a full life, this doesn't mean that we will be free of trials or hardship. Quite the contrary! It is usually our trials that builds our character and faith. It will, however, be a life so content and free from all this world has to offer us. A life worthy of the calling Christ as set out for us, not because of all that you are, but because of all He is. You are great because He is great! You are lovely, because He is lovely. You are strong because He is strong. Lastly, you are ready and able to accomplish, and be all that He has set out for you because He is Christ and He lives in you! Are you ready to step out, to jump off that ledge, and say yes to a life full of Christ and full of freedom? Then join us, because we’re ready too.