Unpluggedنموونە

I recently went rock climbing at an indoor rock-climbing gym. If you’ve never seen (or been to) an indoor rock climbing venue, just imagine a gym with no weight-lifting or workout equipment. Instead, it’s just a series of rock climbing “courses” mapped out in different colors from floor to ceiling in every direction. Oh, and by the ceiling, we mean possibly 60 feet in height or more!

One of the first things we learned was how to use the “auto-repeller” – a device that allows the climber to safely repel down the rock walls without a spotter (i.e. an actual human being helping to maintain rope safety, etc). Not a big deal and I easily climbed the first course all the way to the ceiling. But then I made a huge mistake. I looked down. I looked down and saw nobody helping me – no spotter, no staff member – just me in my harness and my trusty (but is it really?) auto-repeller.  

I just parked at the top for a while. Once I got my involuntary shaking under control, I realized that if I was going to go home eventually I’d have to get off of this climbing wall. I had to push off from the wall (translation = jump!) and trust that the machine I was connected to (the auto-repeller) would catch me. So I took a deep breath and JUMPED! After free-falling for a few seconds, the auto-repeller did its job!  The machine caught the rope and I was able to safely and securely get my feet on the ground!

That experience was terrifying. I didn’t fully trust the thing that I needed to explicitly trust if my descent back down the wall was going to work. Jesus faces His last temptation in the desert in Luke 4:9-13. Satan encourages Jesus to jump off of the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem, hoping that Jesus would need to test God’s protection. But there’s no reason to test something that isn’t doubted. Jesus didn’t doubt God’s word or plan so the temptation didn’t work.

We are tempted every day to put God to the test – to check if He’s really trustworthy or not.  But if we want clear direction from Him, we have to stay connected to Him, trusting that He’ll hold when we jump. Spend some time today praying God would help you stay connected to Him and stay disconnected from things that test your relationship with Him.