Tag: Proverbs 3:5-6

The Risk – To Trust or Not to Trust?

On January 17, 2019

One hundred and ninety feet above a gorge of swirling turbulent water on a rope 1300 feet long and only two inches in diameter, Charles Blondin was the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. In June of 1859, 25,000 people gathered to see him perform the feat or watch him plummet to a watery grave below. Not only did Blondin make the trip across and back, by 1896 he’d crossed over 300 times performing stunts like sitting on the rope and having a bottle of wine, strapping a Daguerreotype camera to his back and taking pictures of the crowd, crossing with his body shackled, and walking with a sack placed over his head. He even brought a stove upon which he cooked an omelet and lowered it by rope to the Maid of the Mist boat below.

In my opinion, the most trusting feat was on the part of his manager, Harry Colcord, who crossed Niagara on Blondin’s back. Blondin told Colcord, “Look up, Harry…. You are no longer Colcord, you are Blondin. Until I clear this place be a part of me, mind, body, and soul. If I sway, sway with me. Do not attempt to do any balancing yourself.” (Daredevil of Niagara Falls, Abbot, Smithsonianmag.com Oct. 18, 2018)

Trust is a powerful force.

Steve Covey in his book, The Speed of Trust, says if trust is removed it, “will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, [and] the deepest love.” (Soundview Executive Book Summaries, Speed of Trust, Vol. 28, No. 11, Part 1, November 2006)

Trust is risky.

Trusting someone is challenging. What if they let me down? Relinquishing control is hard. What if something I need doesn’t get done? We are an independent nation. We’d prefer to fix the problem ourselves. However, a lack of trust slows things down. It also keeps relationships superficial, measured, and distant. In order to reach a deeper level, in order to build trust, we have to take the first step and trust someone else. Steven Covey points out that trust “has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life.”

It is even riskier not to trust.

Many of Blondin’s spectators believed he could make it across the gorge, yet only Colcord had the trust to climb onto Blondin’s back and cling to him knowing his life lay literally in the balance. He trusted Blondin enough to sway with him as the strong winds rocked the rope.

Life will have valleys and gorges. Who are you trusting to get you over them? Are you picking up a balancing stick and stepping onto the swaying rope yourself? Or, are you climbing onto God’s back and allowing Him to carry you over? Are you sacrificing trust to control the small, fleeting moments of your life, or are you trusting in the One who’s bigger than the gorge—the One who controls your ultimate destiny?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not trust in your own understanding. Agree with Him in all your ways, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

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Go Ahead and Shoot the Moon

By Lorri Dudley

On August 8, 2018

In Uncategorized

Any chance my husband gets, he will shoot the moon. Shooting the moon is a strategy in the card game of Hearts. If done properly, the person who shoots the moon passes along the 26 points to the other players. If they’re short one card, then they’re stuck, because the person with the lowest points wins the round.

I’ve never successfully done it. I’m a play-it-safe kind of gal. Sometimes, I’m trying harder not to lose than I am to win. My husband calls my method of playing ducking, which only changed my method to a do-anything-to-prevent-my-husband-from-shooting-the-moon strategy.

Dumbo, Disney’s flying elephant, also liked to play it safe. The only way Timothy Q., the circus mouse could convince Dumbo to attempt to fly was to have him hold a magical feather. Yet, the magic wasn’t inside the feather. It was inside of Dumbo. The feather became a blindfold prohibiting Dumbo from seeing what he was truly capable of achieving.

What feather or excuse are we clinging to instead of realizing the potential within ourselves? I like safety, but when does the comfort of playing it safe become an idol of pleasure?

Steven Furtick, Pastor of Elevation Church in NC, did a sermon illustration about being daring for God. When Steven gets to heaven, he wants his guardian angel to be relieved because of how exhausting it was to protect his charge. Like Steven Furtick, I don’t want to get to heaven and have God say, “You did okay, but I had so much more for you if only you’d have been willing to step out in faith.”

God’s will is bold. Noah built a boat, and it had never rained before. David, a small sheepherder boy with a slingshot, defeated a military giant. And, Gideon the least in his family among the weakest clan, who hid from the Midianites in an old winepress to thresh his wheat, defeated the massive Midianite army with a small band of three hundred men.

John 10:10 says, “I came so that you may have life and have it to the full.” Jesus didn’t say a little bit or halfway. He said so that you may have life to the full. You are God’s creation. Live life full. Don’t settle for mediocrity. Choose to be the person you’re meant to be, not merely the person you’ve allowed yourself to become.

Step out in faith. Keep working until God demonstrates the extraordinary. Don’t lean on your own understanding, instead, trust in God (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Go head. Make your guardian angel sweat a little.

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Into Unknown Territory

By Lorri Dudley

On April 5, 2018

In Uncategorized

I’m a hugger. Touch is one of my love languages up there next to quality time. Unfortunately, it seems those love languages don’t work great for a teenage boy. My oldest is thirteen going on fourteen, and he already believes it’s no longer cool to hug your mom. On occasion, he’ll humor me with annoyed patience as I give him a big squeeze, but for the most part, he wants to be left alone.

Being a mother to teenagers is a road I have never traveled down, and from what I’ve heard it’s a dark path most parents either stumble down pursuing their child or charge through ready to drag them out the other side for better or worse. It’s hard to look forward to the trials and frustrations of your baby testing the waters of adulthood. It’s a time when your past parenting mistakes become magnified and thrown back in your face, and when you have no choice but to let go of control and pray for the best. It’s scary, and most of us feel ill-equipped.

Even if you’re not a parent of teens, you may be struggling with other life events. Maybe you’re a new mom or dad, beginning retirement, entering into a new marriage, or fighting a painful diagnosis, life is full of unknowns. Doubts roll in like thunderclouds over a picnic, and we wonder if we are capable enough, strong enough, smart enough, or able to manage emotionally, mentally, and physically.

In the army when you lose your bearings, they will do what is called a back azimuth. Basically, it’s a 180-degree turnaround walk until they enter back into familiar territory. When I feel like I’ve lost my way or my courage, I do what could be called a God azimuth. I remind myself of who God says I am, and what God says I can do through scripture.

When I think I can’t go on, the Bible says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – II Corinthians 12:9

When I think I’m not smart enough, the Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” – James 1:5

When I think I’m not able, the Bible says, “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” – II Corinthians 9:8

When I think I can’t figure this out, the Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

And when I think I’m afraid, the Bible says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” – II Timothy 1:7

In times of doubt, I have to not rely on what I know of myself, but of what the mighty, all-knowing, all-powerful God says about me.

Below is a prayer I have written and often pray for my boys. You may know someone who needs this prayer prayed over them, or maybe you need it prayed over yourself. Feel free to use it, re-post, or customize it for your needs.

May you be deeply rooted in God’s love. May you discover the joy of walking in his purpose. The world will try to pull you away and distract you especially when God comes calling, but I pray you will filter out those distractions, that your ears will stay tuned into His voice and your eyes focused on His face. I pray you will stay planted where God needs you and that your roots will grow deep and entangled with other Jesus followers who will share with you their substance and strength when storms and trials come. May you bear fruitful harvests and hear the praise spoken into your heart, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Know that I am always on your side, that I am praying for you, and that I will always love you and that God’s love for you is even greater than my own.

God’s angels are already being dispatched prepared to do battle for the lives this prayer represents. It is a powerful thing to know we are not alone in the fight.

God Bless you.

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