Grand Canyon Faith

Well I have been to Haiti in back in the past few weeks, I've sat down to write here multiply times, started multiply times, but haven't exactly had a complete vision of where to next. My hearts been full, my heart has a burden but strange as it may seem for me my thoughts are not collecting in an organized fashion enough to write.

After being in Haiti and witnessing everything that we did there is a list of things one could write about it's long... the inspirations are countless... they just keep on coming to me...

But as I was lying on my bunk, two feet from the ceiling one very warm morning the wave of the fan felt like it was simply bating hot air... and in a way that's all it really was doing... :)

I opened an email of inspiration and it was exactly what I needed... so I am sharing it with you...

I read that high-wire-walking legend Nik Wallenda planned to walk a tightrope across the Grand Canyon. 

I told Brice I did not want to miss the excitement of the live television event. So on June 23, 2013, my family and I were glued to the television when Nik crossed the Grand Canyon. He had no net, tether, or safety harness, just a two-inch steel cable stretched between the canyon walls far above the rocky floor. The distance was greater than the height of the Empire State Building. 

Nik Wallenda had agreed to wear microphones and to be recorded during the live crossing. Not long after the hazardous event began I was expecting the TV network to bleep out what he was saying — not because it was a swear word or other profanity, but because he was crying out in prayer to his Creator. 

This is what the microphones picked up: “Praise You, God! Praise You, Jesus! Help me to relax, Lord... You’re my King, You’re my Protector, You’re my Shield, You’re my Strength, You’re my Lord.” 

When Nik realized the wire had become slick from blowing dust and the winds had picked up to thirty miles per hour, his prayers intensified. Suddenly the cable began to shake. If he proceeded, it would only continue to get worse. His grandfather had died from a high-wire fall in 1978. That stunt had ended in tragedy when the cable began to shake — just as this cable was shaking now. Nik stopped and crouched down, giving time for the cable to quiet the vibration. “Thank you, Lord. Thank You for calming that cable, God.” 

One step after another, the twenty-two-minute, fifty-four-second crossing seemed to last an eternity. But as Nik began to draw near to the other side of the canyon he began to run on the wire. The last ten steps were an adrenaline-fueled dash. When asked later about his prayer on the high wire, he said, “My life is based on my faith. I guess the biggest role that it plays is that if I do fall and die I know where I’m going.” 

Unlike Nik Wallenda, most of us don’t put ourselves in situations that require real faith. You will know you are seeking the face of Jesus when you are so far out of your comfort zone that you can’t help but cry out to Jesus as he did fifteen hundred feet above the canyon floor. 

But I am not talking about doing high-wire stunts. I am not even talking about low-log stunts. I am talking about seeking Jesus in the place where He said He would be found. I am talking about getting out of your comfort zone, your cultural and social bubble. Getting down and dirty and serving others — because that is where we will see Jesus. 

You see, faith is more than just believing and saying you believe. Satan himself believes that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Satan was there and witnessed the resurrection himself. He believes it happened because he saw it. 

"You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!"— James 2:19NKJV

Just believing the right stuff is not enough. True faith is believing and surrendering to that belief — to the point that you’re willing to step off the edge of safe and sure. 

True faith is not just lip service. It’s not just “magic words” or "pre-written thoughts" said in a prayer. It’s surrendering to God and allowing the Holy Spirit to invade us and then allowing that invasion to transform our lives. 

True faith is offering yourself as a living sacrifice to your Creator and allowing your life to be used for His purposes.

You know we live in protected part of North America most of us have been born and raised in an environment where we didn't have to go out and fight for our daily lunch, we aren't getting burned alive for our faith. We don't see a lot of the hardships like others who have gone on before us have and some people still today in parts of the world.

What would happen if instead of living inside of our North American bubble we stepped out of it a little and lived "faith based faith."

That our soul speech would be Nik's words, "Praise You, God! Praise You, Jesus... You’re my King, You’re my Protector, You’re my Shield, You’re my Strength, You’re my Lord.”

Are you willing to take that step out from the safe and the known onto a wire that may or may not hold you as you walk across the Grand Canyon? And do you have faith that even though the wire may break God's going to hold you there and sustain you?

How far are you willing to go for the cause of your faith? Because you Believe!

Do you have faith enough to walk the Grand Canyon not physically but spiritually?

God Bless,