“You only have two options mate, you can either keep climbing, or you can abseil back down!” I was was yelling by this point. He wasn’t too far up the rock face, but this was the fifth or sixth time and he didn’t seem to understand that the only other option was to remain stuck there for the rest of his days. I’d given him the options—turn around or keep going—he’d decided to wait for another answer. Fear had paralysed him.
We were only a few days into a three-week long trip together. We were a group of around a hundred kids thrust together either from working class backgrounds or because an officer of the law had ordered us to be there. This scene was a pivotal moment, everyone else had ascended and descended and now we were all waiting, shouting encouragement, and getting rather worried.
You’ll be glad to know that he finally did make it back down.
I’ve often felt stuck like that in my own life, either in the knowledge that I ought to press on to what God has called me to do or say, or conversely stuck knowing that I need to repent and turn back to the solid ground beneath me. In the moment we can feel completely helpless, unable to move because we’ve given into believing that we have to do it in our own power—worried that we might fall.
On that day, the young man was trapped by a fear of his own mortality, but the truth was that he was completely safe. He was stuck, and so was I. Tethered together by a rope, I was on the ground holding him up, ready to gently let him down if anything happened.
Each of this week’s articles reminds us in one way or another that God has a firm grip on our rope; we don’t go anywhere without his support, direction, and control. Sometimes we get stuck, go in the wrong direction, or fail to keep going, but God remains, holding us, guiding us, loving us.
Grace and Peace,
Adsum Try Ravenhill is married to Anna and together they are passionate about seeing young men and women discipled within the context of the local church. You can find Adsum through his writing at The Raven’s Writing Desk and you can also find Adsum’s articles for GCD here.
Articles of the Week at GCDiscipleship.com
I’ve Been Plagued My Entire Life with The Disease of Jealous Competition
Melinda Wallace
“Whenever the source is not Jesus, the supply will always be limited. He alone has inexhaustible riches, wisdom, strength, and healing. When he exerts power, his strength is not diminished; when he gives treasure from his storehouse, the inventory is never depleted.”
How To Be Faithful Instead of Frantic So You Can Get the Important Things Done
Jana Carlson
“Do you ever wonder how to get it all done without buckling under the unbearable weight of it all? How can we do “all the things” without disregarding what’s most important?”
What Is That to You?
Heidi Kellogg
“When John’s disciples complained to him that Jesus was also baptizing and everyone was going to him, John replied, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven…He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:27, 30). We can only receive work given to us by God.”