Go For it!

Call me a fool, but I’ve experienced a thrill most people never will. I was taking a white-water rafting trip down the South fork of the American river.  Out of the five people in our raft, I was one of three rookies.  One of the veteran rafters took advantage of my ignorance and convinced me that the best way to “experience” the river was to jump out of the raft and ride the rapids with nothing to protect me or keep me afloat except my life jacket.

All day long we’d been making our way down the river enjoying the same basic pattern.  First, we’d encounter a section of white-water followed by a section of relatively calm “flat-water” before the next rapids.  Then, toward the end of the day, we came to a part of the river called, The Gorge.  Having never been down this river before, I had no idea there was anything different about this part of the American.  I was about to find out what the experienced rafters already knew but neglected to tell me.

The entrance of The Gorge is marked rather innocently by the Lollipop Tree.  It looks like a lollipop with a bite taken out of it.  As we passed this landmark, someone said, “Go for it!”

The next thing I knew, I was standing on the bow of the raft having second thoughts, “Should I or shouldn’t I?”  Suddenly, I was in the water not sure if I had jumped or fallen.  It really didn’t matter though, because just as soon as I caught my breath, I was in white-water.

At first, I was just trying to keep my head back and my feet straight up in front of me.  Having mastered this technique, I began to enjoy the excitement of this ultimate thrill ride.  It was like being on the back of an out-of-control rocket.  What a trip!

However, no one told me that The Gorge is a series of several rapids that come one right after another.  Before long, I began to wonder when this white-water would end.  My concern intensified when I looked over my shoulder and realized I was moving faster than the raft.  I was so far ahead now that I could barely see it, let alone climb back in.

Panic began to set in, so I struggled against the current and swam toward the river’s edge with all my might.  As weary as I have ever been in my life, I held onto a rock knowing that my greatest challenge was still to come.  I would have to use perfect timing to gage the speed of the raft coming along behind me so that as I fought my way back to the middle of the river, I would meet the raft and climb to safety.

Against all odds, I actually made it.  But by the time I reached the raft, I was so exhausted I had to be dragged up into it like a load of dead fish.  Talk about embarrassing…

As I sat there regaining strength and composure, we navigated the last of the rapids and came to a section of water so calm we were hardly moving.  It was then I realized that my fears had been unfounded and all my efforts to save myself were wasted.  Had I just continued enjoying my ride a little longer, everything would have been all right.  I would have had the ride of my life and been spared a lot of embarrassment.

I can identify with the apostle Peter who was bidden by the Lord to join Him walking on the water.  Peter started out with great faith and expectation, but even though he did walk on the water, his triumph was cut short by fear.  Had he just continued to trust Jesus and put one foot in front of the other without worrying about the wind and waves, he would have experienced an even greater miracle.

In each of our lives, there are times when God challenges us to reach beyond ourselves – to trust him to lead us into exciting new experiences with Him.  It’s in these times we need to resist fear, put our trust in Him, and enjoy the ride.

Even though Peter failed to go the distance, he is still the only human being who knows what it’s like to walk on water. And even though I failed to ride the white-water all the way, not many other people know what it’s like to shoot the rapids “bareback”.  I will never forget the thrill of that experience.

We won’t always completely succeed in our attempts to live a full-throttle life of faith.  However, let’s not allow the fear of failure to keep us from following our Savior into uncharted waters of spiritual growth.  The greatest thrills and triumphs of life result from those times when we just jump in and “Go for it.”