We called it the Faith Course.  Every summer, I’d hop on a bus to chaperone another group of girls from our youth group at summer camp. They played big ball volleyball on the sand court and wrestled over a greased watermelon in the lake. Those adventurous girls got bruised, but they never gave up. The last event of the weekend was the Faith Course. Each team would run together to overcome a series of perilous obstacles including scaling a ginormous wall and crawling through a dark, dirty tunnel.

The last obstacle was the Trust Fall.

The girls would take turns climbing up the ladder of the tall playground slide, and then they’d cross their hands over their chest as a youth worker placed a blindfold securely over their eyes. The rest of the girls stood at the foot of the ladder with arms locked forming a net to catch the brave girl at the top.

The object of the challenge was to fully trust your teammates. You had to fall back into their safe arms.  Some girls required a little coaxing to participate. So, I would stand on the sidelines and cheer them on with a big smile on my face. “Go ahead, you can do this! We’ve got you.”

I must confess in all those years, I never climbed the ladder myself though.

I always stood on the sidelines and watched.

The thought of falling backward blindly terrified me.

When I started studying these two verses in Proverbs 3, I discovered that in the original Hebrew the word “trust” here is a picture of a servant lying helpless and facedown waiting for direction from the master.  To “lean” means to “rest upon,” to “cling to,” “to be totally supported by.” In my mind, I immediately went back to those summers standing at the foot of the slide looking at someone else experiencing what I longed for so desperately.

I long to know God. More than anything, I want to fall back into His arms and fully surrender every part of me into His care.

But some days, it’s hard to let go. I am standing at the top of a figurative ladder shaking in terror. I just can’t submit. What He is asking me to do seems impossible. I’d rather just stand on the sidelines and cheer someone else on while I am safely on solid ground.

The victorious life of faith requires total reliance on our Heavenly Father. I’m praying this week for Him to help me really live these two verses out, rather than just look at them on the pretty magnet on my refrigerator.

This year, we are going to face many obstacles in our walk of faith. Let’s lean into the wisdom of God’s Word. Let’s trust that our Guide is working in ways that we do not see.

If we fully rely on God, He has promised to “make our way straight.” Pastor Adrian Rogers explains that this means He will “bulldoze a path in front of you and clear the way.”

Don’t stand on the sidelines. You can put your full confidence in your Faithful God. He will catch you every time.

Keeping the Faith,

Lyli

 

Lyli Dunbar

What a privilege it is to have Lyli Dunbar (LGG Mentor & Encourager Teams) on the blog today! Lyli enjoys road trips with her husband, connecting with women through Bible study, and reading way too many books. She shares how everyday experiences help flesh out her faith at 3-D Lessons for Life. A disciple, wife, educator, and mentor, Lyli is just a girl working to keep the faith day by day.

 

 

 

Journal with us throughout our Walking in Wisdom study as we dive into God’s Word together! You can find our women’s and corresponding kids’ journals on Amazon today!

 

Angela Perritt

Angela Perritt

Angela Perritt is the founder and director of LoveGodGreatly.com, a nonprofit online Bible study ministry reaching thousands of women in over two hundred countries around the world with God’s Word through their translated Bible studies. She and her husband live in Dallas, Texas with their three daughters. Angela is passionate about God’s Word and believes one woman in God’s Word can change a family, community and ultimately a nation. Her greatest joy is to encourage her children and others to love God greatly with their lives one day at a time. You can connect with her on Instagram.

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