Get in the Wheelbarrow

"Blondin's greatest fame came in June of 1859 when he attempted to become the first person to cross a tightrope stretched over a quarter of a mile across the mighty Niagara Falls.

He walked across 160 feet above falls several times, each time with a different daring feat - once in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, in the dark, and once he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet!

On one occasion though, he asked for the participation of a volunteer.
A large crowd gathered and a buzz of excitement ran along both sides of the river bank. The crowd “Oooohed!” and “Aaaaahed!” as Blondin carefully walked across one dangerous step after another -- blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow.
Upon reaching the other side, the crowd's applause was louder than the roar of the falls! Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed his audience: "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?" The crowd enthusiastically shouted, "Yes, yes, yes. You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. You can do anything!"
"Okay," said Blondin, "Get in the wheelbarrow....."
The Blondin story goes that no one did!" (Story taken from http://www.creativebiblestudy.com/Blondin-story.html)

This is a story that really makes us think about our faith. How often do we ask God to do something, looking up and knowing He has the ability, but when we're asked to put our trust in that we run the other way? We say we believe, but our actions show that we don't. God asks us to follow Him with our WHOLE heart, trusting without borders. In Joshua 14 we read about Caleb, and in verses 8,9, and 14, it says that He "wholly followed the Lord." Caleb was blessed throughout His life beause He gave God all of Him every step of the way. Each step we take, each decision we make, everywhere we go, we should be holding the hand of God.

Just like nobody wanted to get in the Blondin's wheelbarrow, we get too scared to put our whole lives in God's hands. We'll let Him have control over some areas of our lives, but we try to hold on to a few of them, as if we had the power to do a better job than God can. That's where things get dangerous, because when we try to walk that tight rope alone, we will plunge toward our death. Why wouldn't we get in the wheelbarrow of the One who cannot fall?

I was challenged with this illustration because I know that sometimes I am content just watching God work, but really I should be 100% inside of His will. He doesn't want a relationship where we sit back from a distance and watch, He wants us to get in that wheelbarrow and experience the journey with Him. Let this encourage us to WHOLLY follow the Lord, get in the wheelbarrow, and trust the tightrope walker.

Stay excelent!