Picture of Faith

I recently went to the house of a family in our church to hike with my youth group. We were invited to their house to go hiking around the giant "mountain" of these red rocks in the family's back yard. Several of the people in my youth group enthusiastically went on the hike; including a 16 year old boy named Matthew.

Matthew is a great kid. He's funny, loves music, is very organized, and doesn't ever get tired of drinking Pepsi. Matthew also has some physical disabilities. These disabilities mainly effect Matthew's speech and movement. Everyone was shocked and a little confused as to why Matthew was coming hiking with us. Matthew is really good about knowing his limits, and we were all skeptical about his ability to hike this massive rock formation. But to all of our complete amazement, he did it! Not only did Matthew complete the climb, but he did it without stopping for a break (like the rest of us), without the least bit of complaining (like the rest of us), and gave us all a clear picture of what faith really is.
As I've said, Matthew has some disabilities and is aware of his limits. Even though Matthew knew that he was not going to be able to complete the climb by himself, he knew that had a friend, Jason (our youth pastor, who is very close to Matthew), who was going to be willing and able to help him through the hike. Matthew put his complete trust and FAITH in Jason that day; and together, hand in hand, they made the trek. There were times when Jason had to leap over the large cracks in the rocks that we were all climbing cautiously over and then lift Matthew over . There were some vertical climbs that Jason helped Matthew through...all the while holding his hand. Matthew knew that he couldn't ever make it on his own, but he trusted Jason to get him through it. Even though it seemed dangerous sometimes, Matthew's faith in Jason never wavered. Matthew knew that Jason was right there, holding his hand. He knew that Jason was never going to let him fall through the cracks. He knew that Jason was going to get him through the very challenging course. Matthew trusted Jason completely.
How many of us have the kind of faith in our Savior that Matthew has in Jason? Do we trust that wherever our Almighty God leads us, it's going to be safe...no matter how scary it may seem? As we're being hoisted over giant cracks and holes, and pulled up to places so high that we don't want to look over the edge for fear of plummeting to the ground, are we trusting Jesus, who is holding our hand the whole way? If Matthew could put his faith in Jason, why is it so hard for us to put our faith in Christ? Why don't we realize that we just simply can't do it on our own? And when we DO realize that we can't do it on our own, do we back down and not try, or do we ask our Lord to lead us up the safe path...no matter how treacherous it seems to us?

Here's the challenge: Find something that we CAN'T do, but God CAN (and by the way: God can do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!!!). Next, let's put our faith completely in Him. We, as people, often give up when we come to a "mountain" in our lives. Remember that Jesus Christ is there to hold your hand the whole way. Trust Him. He will never let you down.