Before I share this story, you need to know something about me: I have a fear of heights. So, on a recent family vacation when my daughter asked if I wanted to go skydiving with her, surprisingly, I said yes.
My fear of heights didn’t show itself until my instructor opened the door to the airplane and asked me to swing my feet outside. We were 10,000 feet up in the air with the Pacific Ocean below. My first panicked thought was, “I can’t do this!” But then I told myself not to think about it … just do what my instructor asks. I did! It was exhilarating, and I’m glad I did it.
As I reflected on the experience, I realized what an exercise of faith it was. I’ve been in airplanes many times, so it didn’t seem strange to trust the pilot. I trusted that my instructor, to whom I was strapped, could get me safely to the ground. But the person I put the most faith in was the person who packed our parachute. My life was literally in that person’s hands.
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. —Hebrews 11:1, NIV
I certainly hoped our parachute, which I hadn’t seen until I was floating in the air underneath it, would do its job. And I was very sure it would, otherwise I would not have boarded the plane.
Faith in God can seem like that at times … putting our lives in someone’s hands we can’t see, hoping the way he instructs us to live our lives is really the best. Sometimes we can’t know until we really do it his way. Perhaps we think, “I can’t do this.” I remind myself not to overthink it but do what my Instructor asks. I will freely confess it is easier to write this than it is to do it sometimes. But I encourage all of us to say “yes” when God invites us to take a leap of faith.
About Pastor Steve Hoffer: I joined in 2021 as the pastoral care director at Presbyterian Homes of Bloomington in Minnesota. Previously I served as the senior pastor of Roseau Evangelical Covenant Church in Roseau, Minn. I currently live in Plymouth with my wife Mary. We have 4 adult children and 4 beautiful granddaughters.
The Light for the Way series provides staff with an examination of a biblical reading to deepen our focus on scripture. Thank you for engaging with this series as we seek wisdom through prayer and reflection as a Christian Ministry.
