While growing up in Namibia, most vacations were spent on safari. The game reserve that we visited was Etosha National Park known for Etosha Pan, the dry salt pan left behind from a dried-up lake. Only the Ekuma and Oshigambo Rivers feed the pan with seasonal water. The indigenous people called this place the “Great White Place” (for obvious reasons). This park teams with wildlife of all kinds. One species that is a frequently seen in herds of hundreds of animals is the African Impala (Antidorcas marsupialis), also known as the Springbok (Afrikaans for the jump[ing] antelope.)
This antelope easily jumps over 10 feet in the air and can cover distances of more than 30 feet in one leap. Yet when kept in a zoo enclosure with a 3-foot wall boundary, it will not jump over the wall. The reason, these animals will not jump over anything that they cannot see where their hooves will land.
This is what faith is. It is that act of jumping. Jumping into the unknown, while at the same time, letting go of all that is known. It is trusting that God is holding you in the space of uncertainty and will continue to hold you when you land, and as you move forward in life.
The springbok maybe paralyzed by fear because they do not see what’s in front of them; however, we are freed of that fear because we know that God has a strong hold on us. God will never let us go. God is always with us – Period! We can always scale the wall.
Craig Larson, a Christian writer, defines faith this way: “Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us.”
Have you ever been paralyzed by fear? How did you move forward? Did faith play a part in the unraveling of the fear?
Blessings,
Rev. Anne
Citation:
Larson, Craig Brian. 1993. 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers. Grand Rapids, MI: BakerBooks. p.157.