Sermon Illustrations

HE'LL ALWAYS CATCH YOU

I love to play with my kids. Even as they have gotten older, they bring me a great deal of joy. But, I confess, it was easier when they were young. Especially my daughter, now 21, used to love it when I threw her in the air. But, as you might guess, that wasn't always the case.

I can still recall the first time I tried to throw her in the air...I would guess she was 18 months or so... and her little hands latched onto my arms, holding on with all her might, a look of total bewilderment filling her eyes. But one day I caught her a little off guard and up she went...not far...maybe a foot or so. There was a look of sheer terror in her eyes as she briefly floated in the air and then landed, safely, back in my hands. After catching her breath for second, a smile slowly crept across her face. "More" she said...the closest thing to "again" that she knew.

Again I tossed her up, a little higher this time, and again she landed safely in my arms. This went on for weeks, months, and even years as one of her favorite activities. Pretty soon, no matter how high I threw her, she would squeal with delight, confident that her daddy would catch her. As a side note, my wife was much less confident as an observer of this activity. But you know what? My daughter's faith grew. She went from a moment of terror to years of joy; completely confident that her daddy would always catch her when she came down.

God looks at me like that. Once in a while he wants to test my faith. He starts to release me out of my comfort zone and immediately I latch onto His wrists, scared and unwilling to venture into the unknown. But God knows about me the same thing I knew about my daughter. Once I let go, I will find a whole new level of joy in trusting him. My faith will grow one "throw" at a time and I can be sure my "Daddy" will always be there to catch me.

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