Jump Into Hope

 “So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.”  Acts 27:25

Flames ripped through the roof of the two-story farmhouse. A father stood below the window of his little boy’s room, arms raised, panic in his voice. “Jump son! Jump to me! I will catch you!” A tiny head appeared over the windowsill as smoke billowed around him. “I’m scared, Daddy!” “I know son,” the father cried. “But I have never lied to you. I’m not lying now. If I say I will catch you, then you know it is true. Please, Buddy, jump!” The head disappeared and then two little shoes poked out from the billowing smoke. Moments later, a small body hurtled toward the ground and landed safely in outstretched arms. The little boy had chosen to leap into the arms of hope based solely upon his father’s promise.

Paul did the same thing. The storm had stripped every man of his strength and resources. Then Paul cried out to his Father. “It’s okay, Paul,” came the comforting words. “No one will be lost.” Because his Father had never lied to him before, Paul was willing to jump into those outstretched arms. But to do so, he had to reject other voices clamoring to be heard. He rejected fear and hopelessness. He rejected the terror-stricken words of the sailors and the gravity of his circumstances. He rejected even the voices shouting inside his own thoughts. He jumped into hope—based solely upon his Father’s promise.

When panic sets in, what voice do you obey? Are you willing to jump into hope when your Father calls to you?