The tightrope of trust

We say we trust God, but how often do we put it into practice?
If you have ever been to a circus you’ll probably have seen a tightrope walker walking along the rope at quite a height above the ground. You may also have seen ‘circus schools’ on TV that let people try out various circus activities for themselves. At these the tightrope is usually a lot closer to the ground. There is a reason for that – the lower the rope, the less danger you will be in when you fall.
It makes sense when you are learning to walk on a tightrope you would start at a low level, then gradually build up to doing it on a higher rope. You want to become confident at a safer level, and then when you have mastered the basics you can move on. And I think there is a similarity there with our trust in God.

See, so often we say we trust God, but have we moved to ‘the higher rope’, or is our trust still just a short distance off the ground? Do we trust God in the big things, in the unproven things, or just with small issues, with things we know He has been faithful in before? Do we trust His guidance in all areas of our lives, or just the parts that don’t matter too much?
Jesus sent his disciples out telling them not to take money or a change of clothes with them (check it out in Matthew 10:5-23). To go without anything to fall back on takes serious trust – they were walking on the high tightrope. Are we prepared to do that? Or do we prefer to set up our own ‘safety net’ of comfort? Do we not trust that when God sends us He will also provide for us?
In Matthew 6:31-33 Jesus says “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Do we have enough trust to take those words literally?
One last thing on the tightrope analogy. Health and safety regulations these days mean there will be a safety net to catch tightrope walkers should they fall. And in life we don’t have a safety net; we have no assurance that everything will go just fine for us because we trust God. But God does promise that when we fall, He will pick us up again – Psalm 145:14 says “The Lord helps the fallen, and lifts those bent beneath their loads.”
So today put full trust in God. Trust enough to live life on the high rope, without a safety net of assurance that it will all go ok, with the reassurance that if you slip, God will be there to pick you up again.