As I looked over the edge of the double black diamond run Free Fall, I thought to myself, " Am I really going to do this? Is this even possible?". Thoughts similar to these were on a constant wavelength as I set out to conquer my fears on JSAW's trip to Lutsen Mountains. The entire week leading up to the trip I was processing how I was going to make it through and if I was even going to have fun. The funny thing was, God already knew the results and had me create a teaching for the trip on bold faith. As I was reading the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer taking steps of faith to conquer the Philistines in 1 Samuel 14, I knew God would put my and others' faith to the test that weekend.
Jonathan was a man of bold faith; so much faith that he was willing to lay his own life down, not even knowing if the Lord was going to assist him in his venture. But, he knew that the Lord was able to save, "by many or by few," according to verse 6. Through his bold faith, the Lord saved Israel that day. Not Jonathan. The Lord. Jonathan's faith was great and brought to mind what kind of faith each of us in the group had. The challenge from this teaching was to take a bold step of faith.
Reading this story gave me the confidence to step up. So when I was standing on top of that mountain looking at that double black diamond drop, I chose to be bold and send it. As my friends tried to ride down this hill, I also tried to. I ended up being fine but turned into quite the downhill slide. However, I conquered that fear and made it to the bottom safe and sound. Looking back now, I know that I have progressed a ton. I found new desires for going fast, hitting tree runs, and sending it off side hits. It was so much fun. This was all because I chose to trust God and be bold!
There were several opportunities for boldness on this trip; an injured skier needing prayer, conversations about God on the chair lifts, & hanging out with someone new. All these situations presented themselves on this trip as we set out to be bold.
What kind of faith do you have? Do you have a bold faith like Jonathan's where you are actively taking steps to grow in your relationship with Jesus? Or, are you not sure about this whole faith thing, whether God is real, or even that sin is real? Questions like these can and will be answered at JSAW's weekly Bible studies. We dive into all sorts of spiritual topics and try to answer hard questions. If you are finding yourself in a position of needing community, or if you are just searching for the truth, this is where you will find it. If you are interested in coming to Bible study, head over to JSAW's youtube, Instagram, or events page to find out more.
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