Faith & Zip Lining

A few weeks ago, we took six of our youth group seniors to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. We planned to go zip lining while at the Ark Encounter. The kids were really excited. I was not, but having turned fifty in May, I thought this very well could be my last hurrah. Plus, I hate missing out on things with our youth group kiddos.

As we began climbing the first tower, going round and round the tiny spiral staircase and higher and higher above the trees, I started having second thoughts. As I stood on the swaying platform looking down the long zip line to the barely visible landing pad, I had more than second thoughts. I had thoughts of fleeing the scene, sitting in an air-conditioned space and sipping my peppermint hot chocolate in safety. I had thoughts of my fifty-year old brain not remembering a single instruction we had been given. But there were my youth group kiddos cheering me on.

My husband went first. He made it look so easy. I still wanted to flee. My turn. The staff person clipped me on. He reminded me where to place my hands and how to slow down. What if I the harness doesn’t hold? Am I really trusting these few straps with my life? What if I spin and can’t straighten out? What if I can’t slow down at the other end and crash into the platform? My youth group kiddos kept encouraging me.

That first step off the platform seemed like an eternity of holding my breath. The harness held. I was zipping. Then I was zipping fast. Trees were flying by below me. The platform at the other end didn’t seem so far away anymore. In fact, it was coming up rapidly, and yet the staff person on that end kept waving me in, waving me in. I fixed my eyes on her hand. Waiting for the signal to slow down. It came. I placed my hand on the line above me. I slowed! I landed. I was still in one piece.

We went on to do seven more runs that day. With each one, my anxiety lessened, and my enjoyment increased. The trees below were beautiful. The cool breeze on the hot, humid day felt good. I was sorry when our last run was over, however, the whole experience brought Hebrews 11:1 and 12:1-2 to mind.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This may be a familiar verse to you. It is to me, but it took on new meaning for me as I stepped off the zip lining platform, putting my trust in the equipment to work against gravity. In zip lining, I can see the harness. I can see that I am attached. I can see that the person before me zipped without any incident. I put my faith in something I could see. But these are all human things. They can fail (although thankfully they didn’t).

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that true faith, Biblical faith is in things not seen. Our humanness wants something tangible to trust in, but the “unseen” of Hebrews 11:1 surpasses anything that we could see. The writer uses the words assurance and conviction. These are terms of certainty, of confidence. Why? Why can we have assurance and conviction? It’s because our faith is placed in the almighty, omniscient, good, loving, sovereign, faithful God who keeps His promises. We never have to wonder if the harness will fail or the cable will snap so to speak. He will never fail us. He will never forsake us. He sent His own Son to die in our place and gave us the gift of His indwelling Spirit as a guarantee of eternal life with Him. He keeps His promises. There is none besides God who is worthy to place our complete trust in.

After my second zip, I was comfortable taking that step off the platform, but it was still a little scary flying at up to a hundred miles per hour and seeing the landing platform coming up so fast. The cables are built to slow you down as you come in, and you can slow yourself down, but it can still be scary. The closer I got, the more I fixed my eyes on the staff person waiting for me.

Likewise, Hebrews 12:2 tells us that the way we run the race of life faithfully and with endurance is by “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the same, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” It would be easy to write pages on this verse alone. I’ll try to be succinct. There will be temptations, circumstances and people that threaten us with a crash landing or tempt us to fear, but just as I fixed my eyes on that waiting staff person, watching their hand signals to come in safely, we fix our eyes on Jesus. He is trustworthy. He is the founder and perfecter of our faith. We aren’t in this alone. Jesus, the perfecter of our faith, has imputed (given) to us His perfect, righteous record. Talk about a motivator to persevere in our faith.

Not only that, but “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.” It was a joy to Jesus to make atonement for us with all the horror and shame of the cross because He had fixed His eyes on what was before Him – our redemption, our eternal life with God, and His seating at the right hand of God where He now intercedes for us. Not that the Father needs a reminder, but Jesus is right there as a declaration that we are accepted in Him by His blood. Wow! That is Someone worth fixing my eyes on. I don’t know about you, but it not only motivates me to persevere, but to persevere thanksgiving and joy.

The third application I saw was from Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” My youth group kiddos were my great cloud of witnesses encouraging me to step off the zip lining platform. They helped me step out in faith that the harness and cable would hold me, and I would even have fun.

How much more our spiritual cloud of witnesses? Hebrews 11 is referred to as the “Hall of Faith.” We have numerous Biblical examples to encourage us, but we also have others around us right now that are a witness of faith to us. I have several people in my life that live faithful lives even in trials. They humbly confess and put off their sin. They keep persevering. They encourage me to do the same, and I hope I can encourage them.

You may never zip line, but I pray you have put your faith in the only One who is worthy, that you fix your eyes on Jesus your soul’s reward, that you too are surrounded by faithful witnesses, and you persevere until the finish which is really just the beginning.