So my wife and I had the opportunity to hike to Burgess Falls near Cookeville, Tennessee yesterday. We made a trip to visit Mel’s folks for the Memorial Day holiday. It’s been a good time hanging out as a family.
Anyway, we hiked to Burgess falls yesterday. It was absolutely beautiful! Portions of the hike were tough, but the views were well worth it. It is so awesome to see the magnificence of God through His creation. Creation literally screams praises to Him each day.
We came to an outlook of the falls which was in itself pretty awesome. However, we decided to make the hike down the ravine to view the waterfall from the base.
This was a pretty big deal for my wife. She suffered a knee injury in high school that she still is careful with–especially when it comes to exercising or strenuous activities. So I was very excited and proud of her when she suggested we make the climb down the ravine to the waterfall.
We made the climb down successfully, and she said something that I will never forget. She said, “Jesus is going to take care of me, and I’m not gonna let fear keep me from experiencing the awesome things He has for me.” WOW! I was totally blown away, and knew that I would have to reflect more on that profound statement.
She was so right. Physically, she was not gonna let a former injury prevent her from enjoying some great things in life. She knew that Jesus was going to take care of her. Furthermore–spiritually, we as followers of Jesus cannot let fear keep us away from stepping out and doing what He has called us to do. We cannot let former hurts, difficulties, or fears hold us back from what Jesus wants for us–He is gonna take care of us no matter what we face. Sometimes, the most amazing things are waiting for us once we step out and face our fears. We cannot let fear cripple us. We cannot let the “what if” become the determining factor in how we live our lives. Jesus never played it safe, and He has called us to follow Him. He has not given us a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7). Rather He says that we can do all things through Him (Philippians 4:13). I feel that we, as followers of Jesus, have played it safe for too long. Oftentimes, we do not step out when Jesus says step out for fear of past hurts, failures, etc. Jesus is bigger and greater than all of that and His command should be enough assurance for us. He is faithful and will take care of us.
Like I said, I was so proud of my wife for stepping out, facing her fear, and making the descent into the ravine. It was risky, but she knew that Jesus was going to take care of her. That just spoke volumes to me. We should have that very same outlook on our lives. Jesus is gonna take care of us no matter what. We can face our fears, step out, obey him and look forward to the great things that He has in store.
