Hold on!
There is a certain blast or an emotional surge as one jumps from a plane, 13,500 feet up in the air. The anticipation builds as you sit, crammed in that small plane, watching the elevation grow. Awkwardly strapped to the “professional” you have only two options as you wait, lean forward, limiting the touching or lean back and cozy in. This was my first time and it was in that stuffy small plane that I thought I would begin to panic but I had become more enamored with that view than focused on the plan. Being strapped in or the growing elevation did not matter as the mountain peaks were uncovered.
Suddenly, the light glared green, jolting me from my hypnotic daze across the Cascades. Green light meant it was time to go, and I felt the final tighten on the harness. One by one the people in front were literally dropping out before me and I could feel myself being scooched closer to the door. There is an automatic response to push back as you see that opened door grow closer. Yet, that stark reality of “This is what I came to do” eased the anxiety and I scooched forward in unison.
Legs flung over and looking down there is not much time to think. In those fleeting seconds, I had two thoughts erupt in my mind. “What am I doing this is crazy!” and “I have to trust this guy…let’s do it!” With that I leaned back into him and like a domino fell forward. Plummeting to the ground at almost 200 miles per hour is a feeling and speed I had never felt. The feeling of being unhindered and yet safe was nothing short of exhilarating. In that moment I had no control and all I could do was to lean back and “hold on.” My guy was an expert. He had a plan and whether I felt it or not, his number one priority was to, without letting me die, provide the fullest experience.
I have come to recognize over my years of following Jesus, in the easy and the unknown, that is how the Holy Spirit works. God will do what He will do and unhindered bring about the Kingdom and His plan. We are invited along to be a part but our part is to lean into the Spirit and relinquish our obsessive need to control or “have a handle on it.” When the Spirit moves, we know it and all we can do is hold on. What is even better is that as we are harnessed in with the Spirit, we are reminded to keep our head up and enjoy the view. Intuition and logic would have kept me from experiencing that view. On that clear blue and beautiful day, I saw from the San Juan Islands all the way down to Saint Helens.
I saw the world from an unhindered view. Had I pushed back or dug my heals in and scooched in the opposite direction, I would have missed that opportunity. In that moment, I had a decision to make. Trust my guy and lean in and jump, even though it didn’t make sense or scooch away from the opportunity that was before me. If I had, no big deal and I would have moved to the side and let the others go without me but missing all that was in store.
The heights and opportunities that God has for us doesn’t always make sense and it certainly isn’t what others are doing, just ask Joshua as he walked the walls or David as he stood before that giant. If, and only if, we really just lean in and scooch with the Spirit, forcing us to lean in then we will experience the heights and majesty of what our God can do. May we be more enamored with God’s promises than our preferences, may we lean into the Spirit and scooch in unison, and may we experience the fullness and beauty of God’s view into the future!
-Phil
