I'm sure you've heard this saying, "When you come to the end of your rope tie a knot and hold on".
Yeah that sounds good, but what happens when you are beginning to develop rope burn on the palms of your hands? You were swinging and waiting on God patiently but He didn't answer immediately. Yet you kept the faith, although you could feel the blisters forming on your hands. The friction of squeezing the rope requires all of your attention.
Do you remember doing pull ups during P.E. class? The instructor would tell you to stand up on the spotting chair and then pull yourself up on the bar. This didn't seem that difficult because you realized that you could always go back and feel the spotting chair at the tips of your toes. Whenever your arms would grow weary of the up-down pull up motion, you could always go back and rest on the spotting chair. But do you remember how you felt when the chair was taken away and you no longer had the security of feeling it under your feet? Initial fear and then determination to pull yourself up, once more.
Well I imagine the end of the rope in similar fashion. It was fine when you had the comfort of something.... heck anything, under your feet. But what happens when all of your options seem to be slowly dissipating? The knot has been tied at the end of the rope, but the palms of your hands have blistered, calloused over and are now bleeding. The nerve impulses in your muscles have lost their firing capability, rendering you helpless and unable to pull yourself up again. Your rotator cuffs are in excruciating pain, due to the weight of your body. Your back is arched, your feet are dangling and toes are pointed, searching for any sign of the spotting chair. Your head is hanging backwards into the locks of your shoulder, your face is cold and damp due to the stream of endless tears and it seems like the spotting chair has been taken away forever. There is no back up plan, no Plan B, no more options...all you can do is literally hang, as your body convulses as a result of the incessant sobbing.
As you hang suspended in the air, all of your other senses are now on high alert. Although your eyes are closed trying to catch the tears before they fall, your ears and your spirit become a little more in tune to what is happening around you. Sshhh, did you just hear that? I thought I heard the Lord speaking...it sounded like Psalms 46:10, "Be still and KNOW that I am God".
You didn't hear that? Well try listening with your spirit this time. Deutreronomy 31:6, "So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic... For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will
neither fail you nor abandon you."
So even as you hang there, suspended in mid air, God has not forgotten you. In fact, He is wondering why you insist on acting in your own strength. I can imagine him scratching his head, just waiting for you to stop those fruitless efforts that are only causing more pain and fatigue. I hear him saying let go and let me guide you. Almost like the parachuting expert who takes a beginner along. The beginner has to open his or her arms in surrender to the expert, as the pull of gravity brings them both down and the skill of the expert helps them to land. You have no control over where you will land because the expert assumes all responsibility. All you are required to do is relax and enjoy the ride.
Allow the wind to blow in your face and open your eyes to see all the things that God wants to give you when you land. (The Earth is the Lords and the fullness therof, Psalm 24:1.)
So what do you do when you've come to the end of your rope? Forget the knot, forsake all spotting apparatus and simply surrender to the expert. He knows exactly where He wants you to land.
Now walk it out.......when you reach the ground, of course.
