There’s a cliff not far from where I live here in Costa that is about 30 meters tall. Obviously, this is much bigger and much scarier than anything I’ve experienced in Georgia. The water below was beautiful and dark. There was a still beating against the wall from the pulsing water of the waterfall nearby. This was a popular cliff jumping location, but there was also much controversy over it as it was not uncommon for people to be injured. Would there be a rock below? Would the impact against the water cause injury? What if there are fish in there to nibble my toes (that’s a terrible feeling, don’t fight me on it)?? My heart was racing but I took a deep breath and thought: “what’s the worst that could happen?”
Truth be told, I made all of that up. While I do love cliff jumping, I have not been in about a year. However, this blog is indeed about cliff jumping, so stay tuned for some dope scriptural cliff jumping.
On Mondays, we have begun to do Discipleship Days where our coaches pour some truth into our spirits to refill us for the week. One particular Monday, we were working on listening and hearing the voice of the Lord. Renee Duffy (one of my coaches) gave us an exercise where we read a very familiar passage and asked the Lord to give us new revelations about these verses. The verses she gave us were Matthew 6:9-13, aka The Lord’s Prayer. Ever heard of it? Of course, most all of you have. Upon first glance (admittedly) I rolled my eyes a little. Sorry, Renee. I had known these verses by heart since I was 3! This is one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. What could I learn now that I haven’t already heard at least 4 sermons on?
Ya know how sometimes you do something and you KNOW God is looking at you like “lol, you’re literally so obnoxious.” And then, He also hits you with one of these: “You don’t even know how I’m about to wreck you.”
Here is the Lord’s Prayer:
“Our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”
I prayed for the Lord to clear my mind and open my heart to whatever He wanted. He didn’t just put something on my heart. He put something on my stomach. The verses that stuck out to me were: “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” These are not simple verses and they have no simple meaning. We don’t have to ask for the Lord’s will to be done; it’s going to be done whether or not we like it. But when we ask the Lord to invite us to take part in portraying His will, you have to be ready to do whatever He calls you to. This can be a very terrifying request if you think about it.
He WILL lead you into discomfort.
He WILL challenge your beliefs.
He WILL wreck your plans.
He WILL radically break you.
“Okay so what does all of this have to do with cliff jumping??”
I’m glad you asked!
When I asked the Lord to show me something new, He gave me something old. A familiar feeling. A gut-wrenching, adrenaline-pumping feeling. The feeling of cliff jumping.
There was one cliff experience He pulled my attention to. The edge came to a point and descended in a curved manner (think Pride Rock from Lion King but with a concave curve after the edge). At the bottom was a river with rather chilly water. I didn’t want to do it, but I really wanted to do it. I backed up and took a deep breath. I had to have faith. Faith that I would jump far enough; faith that the water would catch me; faith that there wouldn’t be rocks under there. I had to jump, I wanted to jump. I took a few big steps and pushed off with as much force as possible. There was nothing below me anymore, my faith was forced into action because that was all I had left. Gravity took control and it also took my stomach. That gut-wrenching feeling was what I remembered the most. That’s what the Lord brought to my mind.
When you decide to allow Christ to lead your life, you step into the uncomfortable. Your flesh doesn’t want to jump, but your spirit does. When you overcome your flesh and jump into whatever Christ has for you, it’s scary. Your stomach becomes uneasy and your heart races. It’s not easy and many back out before ever jumping. When the specific task set before you is accomplished, your retrospect will tell you just how worth it this all truly was. You know the ends will justify the anxiety you had leading up to it.
If you’re an adrenaline junky, try allowing the Lord to lead your life.
Following Christ is literally the biggest adrenaline rush. It’s like cliff jumping into an unknown river. But the best part is, you don’t ever have to worry about the ending because He will always keep you safe and protect you in the scariest moments.
How actually dope is that!!!!????
