Trust your gear
A Rock Climbing Devotional
You’re thirty or eighty feet up a sheer cliff face, muscles burning, chalk on your hands, and staring at a move that looks absolutely impossible. Your brain is screaming “NOPE!” but your climbing partner below is shouting encouragement (and probably wondering why they agreed to belay for someone who clearly has trust issues).
Here’s the thing about climbing: at some point, you have to trust your gear. That rope? It’s rated for way more weight than you’ll ever put on it. Those cams and nuts wedged in the rock? They’ve been tested by people much smarter than you. But knowing that and actually trusting it when you’re scared and tired are two very different things.
The same goes for following Jesus. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Translation: “Hey, I’ve got this. You can trust me with the hard stuff.”
But just like on the rock face, knowing Jesus can handle our problems and actually letting him carry them are different things. We’d rather white-knuckle our way through life, convinced we need to figure everything out ourselves. Meanwhile, we’re exhausted, stressed, and probably making the climb way harder than it needs to be.
This Week’s Challenge: Pick one thing you’ve been trying to control or fix on your own. It could be a relationship issue, work stress, or that nagging worry that keeps you up at night. Instead of your usual approach (which, let’s be honest, hasn’t been working anyway), try talking to Jesus about it. Not just a quick “please fix this” prayer, but actually tell him what’s going on and ask for his help. Then – and this is the hard part – actually look for his guidance instead of immediately going back to your own game plan.
Trust your gear. Sometimes the scariest move is the one that leads to the best view.
Questions for Reflection
1. Think About It: What’s the difference between knowing something is safe and actually trusting it? Can you think of an example from adventure sports or everyday life where this applies?
2. Get Personal: What’s one area of your life where you find it hardest to “let go of the rope” and trust that things will work out? What makes trusting so difficult in that situation?
3. Go Deeper: If you really believed Jesus when he said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” what would you do differently this week? What’s holding you back from taking him at his word?