The Silver Bullet

A couple of summers ago we went on vacation to Oklahoma to visit my wife's sister and her family. On one of the afternoons while we were there we decided to go to a water park. We had fun swimming and going down some small slides for most of the afternoon, until the kids decided they wanted to try the main attraction, "The Silver Bullet". Now...I saw it across the park, but I wasn't saying anything about it. You see...this water slide is 100 feet straight down and I am afraid of heights. My son Christian and his cousin Alley started up the endless flights of steps...I was fine just watching. They went down several times and were having a blast. This whole time, my other son Taylor was wrestling with whether to do it or not. He wanted to but he was afraid. He saw how much fun the others were having and he hated it...but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It got to the point where some tears started showing in his eyes. So I told him that if he wanted to do it...I would do it with him. (I didn't really think he would say yes, lol) After a few minutes he said okay let's do it...so we headed up the steps. He told me on the way up that he was scared, and I told him that I was too but we were going to "face our fears together". We prayed on the way too. When we got to the top I asked him if he wanted me to go first and he said no, he wanted to go. He did it...he went right down. I stood there and I have to admit, I thought about going down the steps, but I kept my word and went down the slide. (I closed my eyes the whole way down) When I got to the bottom it was worth it to see the smile on Taylor's face. Taylor learned alot from that experience about facing his fears and trusting God. He felt so good about his accomplishment, something he never could have felt if he wouldn't have been willing to take the risk.

So often in life we hold back because we are afraid, but how are we ever going to do anything great if we aren't willing to "face our fears"...if we aren't willing to take a risk. Maybe God wants to do something miraculous in your life, but he is waiting for you to trust him. Remember in the bible when Jesus was walking on water and he said to his disciples....

"Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Peter replies, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water." So Jesus invites Peter to come. Peter gets out of the boat and begins walking on the water toward Jesus. But when Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and sees the wind and waves, he begins to sink. Peter cries out to the Lord and Jesus immediately reaches out his hand and catches Peter. As they climb into the boat together, the storm ceases. Then the disciples worship Jesus, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Sure...Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and fell in the water, but he was willing to take the risk and get out of the boat...and HE WALKED ON WATER! What could God do in your life if you were willing to get out of the boat?