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Christian Living courage

Jump In!

Our middle son has always been a bit of a daredevil. One day my sister-in-law, a former life guard, coaxed him into the shallow end of a swimming pool. He must have been about three years old.

Standing near the edge, she entreated with outstretched arms—thinking he would be wary—when he suddenly jumped right in! Bloop… She missed the catch and he went under. However, when she fished him out a split second later, he came up laughing like a hyena.

I remember thinking, “That fearless little guy had no doubt his aunt would look out for him.”

Why don’t I trust God like that?

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:6

Our son had never ventured into anything bigger than a bathtub before that day. Yet he went for it. Somehow, he knew it was a done deal; all he had to do was make the leap.

I’ll be “Captain Obvious” here and point out the parallel. God stands near the edge of the shallow (or not so shallow) end of a pool of faith. With arms outstretched He entreats us to jump into a new experience with Him.

Do we take the plunge?

Come on, let’s go! We’ll come up laughing like a cackle of holy hyenas (Psalm 126:3).

Here are a few of my favorite “Jump In!” scriptures. Please share one of yours.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 – NIV)

“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:24 – NKJV)

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4 NIV)

Thanks to John at rockroad.blog for the idea that became this post. He’s a brother in Christ, and a master of the life story niche. Please check out his blog; it’s worth the read!

By davidsdailydose

I'm just a regular guy who was
tempted to lose all hope but did not. It was God who made the difference.

35 replies on “Jump In!”

Oh, to humble ourselves and trust our Heavenly Father with the faith of a child! My son is now 25 and still every bit as bold as he was back then. Thank you for reading my offerings and also sharing you thoughts. Blessings.

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I can relate to this with the event today. I put automatic and complete faith in God in my situation.
When I ran into the room on fire, all I kept thinking was that I needed to get my dog out safely. Yet at the same time, I knew we would be okay. I knew nothing bad would happen to me and considering the situation, I had a sense of calm that I still carry with me now.
If not enough, there was really only one book that made it out untouched from the bookshelf that caught on fire, I found it in the rubble.
My bible.
Everything else destroyed or ruined. Yet there on the floor, covered with chunks of insulation and debris was my sea green bible.
I think that is a pretty clear message.

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Often I find my fear of a new step of faith is because my eyes have momentarily drifted from my Salvation–Jesus Christ (life-guard) to others, thus feeding fears. Psalm 56:3-4 speaks to that, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Following that is, Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my salvation–whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life–whom should I dread?”

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Thanks for sharing, Gary. I am card carrying thrill seeker myself. That’s probably where my son got it from.
You are so right about those blind leaps. Am I following God or just being impetuous?

Good thoughts, as always, Gary.

PS. The lakes and ponds are frozen over here. That’s rare indeed.

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Speaking from the “fearless” angle, God has used my fearlessness in various ministries in many ways. Credit God not me. I wish I could say I was always “trusting God” I know I have an unhealthy lack of fear and take huge risks often. Dad’s words echo in me “I’m not sure why God bails you out so many times son”
I had to learn the difference between what God has promised and where and when my blind leaps of faith in myself were leading the charge.

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Great analogy for our faith, dear David! Yes, God asks us to take the plunge every day and trust in Him. We must learn to laugh as your son did in experiencing life and all its moments that test our faith and trust that no matter what God keeps us afloat😊

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A nice analogy indeed. While you think it’s obvious, your posts puts it in the forefront of our minds AND our HEARTS. Hebrews 11:6 wins for quote of the day. Thanks for the Saturday morning encouragement. Enjoy your day!

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I appreciate your interaction, Beth. Your comment adds more depth-no pun intended-to my thoughts. God never puts more on us than we can handle. With His help, of course, we can handle any water or weather! Blessings.

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I remember the swimming lessons we had as kids. The instructors started us in the shallow end and worked us into the deep end over the course of a few weeks. As I fall into the non-risk taker, unadventurous sort I’m glad God started in the shallow end with me and has worked up from there as my faith muscles grow stronger in Him. I had to think of Peter. Jesus started with asking him a fisherman to simply toss his nets back into the water, during the day, and after an unsuccessful night of fishing. It was certainly an act of faith to obey. Then to think of the deep end steps of faith Peter was taking in the book of Acts. The tiny mustard seed of faith grows into a tall plant with time if we trust the Lord and obey. Great post David!

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“He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.” PSALM 40:2.
A post of faith, and how we really need to practice it more. Thank you for the reminder that our Father is always there, beside the pool ready to rescue us. God bless you brother.

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