I heard a story recently about a man who decided to treat his wife to a hot-air balloon flight.
He wasn’t particularly afraid of heights, but as he climbed into that simple wicker basket and realised just how little there was between him and the ground, he started to feel decidedly less brave.
Then came the roar of the flame.
The balloon began to lift.
And just as he was wondering whether this had been such a brilliant gift after all, he heard the pilot say two words you never want to hear from a pilot:
‘Uh oh.’
‘What do you mean, uh oh?’ he asked anxiously.
The pilot explained that they weren’t going any higher.
He’d forgotten to cut the rope.
The balloon was ready to rise. The hot air was doing its job. But they were still tethered to the truck on the ground.
And I wonder how often we do the same thing.
We ask God to take us higher. We have dreams in our hearts and things we believe He is calling us to do. We pray for His direction and ask Him to use our lives.
But at the same time, we keep hold of the rope.
We want to follow God – while still keeping control.
We want to trust Him – while making sure we have our own safety net firmly attached.
At some point, faith requires us to let go.
Verse of the Week
‘But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.’
—Num. 14:24
I love those words: ‘followed Me fully.’
Caleb wasn’t half-hearted about following God and God said He would bring him into the land He had promised.
There may be something God has put on your heart that requires you to stop holding quite so tightly to what feels safe and predictable.
Maybe the rope is fear.
Maybe it’s needing to know exactly how everything will work out.
Maybe it’s wanting God to lead – as long as He leads you somewhere you already understand.
What would happen if you finally cut the rope?
You may not be able to see exactly where God is taking you or how everything will work out, but you can trust Him to lead you.
God can take you further than you could ever take yourself.
So perhaps this week your prayer is simply:
Lord, I’m following You fully. I trust You with where You’re taking me.
Cut the rope. And let God take you higher.
Until next week,
Have a blessed day and keep shining!
Cheryl
