Of Rollercoasters and Faith

My son grips my hand, his eyes growing larger with every stomach-clenching jolt of steel against steel.

“I’m not sure I like this,” he says in a voice that trembles on this, his first rollercoaster ride.

“Be brave, buddy, you’ll love it,” I say and hold my own breath.

And there it is—the top, the drop, the whoosh of wind in hair and screams of delight.

The trust.

The belief.

The spine-tingling faith in a wood and metal machine and the anonymous designer who dreamed up such a thing.

And yet, where’s our faith in the Master Designer? The Creator who crafted the trees and hid the iron ore in the hills in the first place?

Too many times I have sized up the challenges in my life and said, “I’m not sure I like this,” and walked away before even climbing into the seat.

Full of fear. Full of doubt. Full of regret.

What is safe? Is it strapping into a fifty-mile-a-hour machine and flying over man-made hills of steel?

Or is it strapping into Jesus and knowing that, with him, you can fly? (Phil 4:10-13)

We say, “I’m not sure the doors are open” or “the funding isn’t all there” or “God hasn’t paved the way yet”…

But what if God wants us to knock down doors? Walk out on a flimsy limb? Brave the bumpy roads?

I've done many things in the past that I felt were “blessed” by God because everything seemed to fall into place. Things that blew up in my face later, or stalled out before the ride even started.

But the things that were scary, the things that I felt compelled to do yet at the same time utterly terrified me, the things that made my stomach curl and my voice tremble, the things that made me grip the hands of my Abba Daddy tight—these have been the opportunities that yielded the most gain, the most growth, the most exhilaration.

Do we feel brave?

Do we feel safe?

Probably not.

Unless we realize that the Master Designer knows every twist and turn.

He’s with us, waving his hands in the air as we rush down the thrilling slopes. Laughing with us. Enjoying the fellowship. Promising greater joys just over the next unforeseen rise.

He’s already there, at the end of the ride, ready to lift the safety-bar of this mortal flesh and welcome us to the celebration of a life not lived in fear of the unknown.

A life of belief in the One who crafted the greatest, most exciting thrill-ride ever—Faith.

A life of trust that embraces the spine-tingling excitement of obedience, no matter the cost.

As for my son? He rode rollercoasters all day.

And loved every terrifying minute.

Enjoy this cover of "You Make Me Brave" by Lauren Daigle (one of my favorite artists)