Blind Faith

I was watching America’s Got Talent last night.  My mother and I have enjoyed viewing each week as the aspiring contestants showcased their talents in hopes of winning the grand prize.  The acts are varied; all ages represented.

One act was a man and his wife on the trapeze.  He would stand high on a platform and literally throw his wife into the air.   He would hold her hands or feet and swing her back and forth, back and forth, gaining momentum.  Then, into the air she was hurled!  Along with the studio audience, I caught myself holding my breath; at times, my hands cupping my mouth in fearful anticipation of what might happen if he missed!

He caught her each time to the applaud of all.  Then, the judges and audience stared incredulously, as the man blindfolded his wife.  Grabbing her hands, he swung her back and forth, then tossed her high into the air!   She flipped and began quick descent.  What happened?  She just stretched out her arms and he caught her!  Several times this blind endeavor was repeated.  One time he caught her by the ankles.  She just flipped, descended and waited to be caught.  I began clapping in my living room along with the TV audience.  What an amazing act of faith on his wife’s part.

How could she do it?  How could she trust that he would catch her each and every time?  (By the way — they had no safety net!)  As I turned the situation over in my mind, wondering how she could exhibit such blind faith, I concluded that it must be because:  she had spent enough time with her husband to know his skill, to know his firm touch, to know he would be there with hands outstretched to catch her.  She had to know him so well, that it would be unheard of for her not to trust him, evenly blindly.  He had never missed; why would he miss now?

Oh, I was so challenged by this act!  I contemplated that, if this woman could blindly trust in her physical world, where mistakes do happen, then why can’t you and I blindly trust in our spiritual worlds where our God never gets anything wrong?  How can we strengthen our faith?  Like the woman with her husband, we, too, must come to know our Father so well that we know His skill in dealing with life’s troubles.  When we spend time getting to know our Father, we come to a point where we recognize His touch; we know of a certainty that His hands will be outstretched to catch us lest we fall.

This man’s wife had to practice a lot to learn to trust that her husband would catch her. We need to practice, also, spending time getting to know our Father, cultivating our own faith to know that He will never let us go; He will always be there to catch us.

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”  Isaiah 41:10