In this roller coaster I trust

Glad I didn't drop my camera!

Over the last few weeks I’ve been to Magic Mountain multiple times. Traveling about an hour one-way to stand in line, in extreme heat, for a ride that could possibly kill me. In July of this year a woman riding a coaster in Texas plunged to her death when her “SAFETY BAR” released. Knowing this information I, and many others, still trusted these apparatuses. We talked about the fear of it happening to us while standing in line and still decided to ride, multiple times!

We flock and pay for these experiences because it causes excitement, gets our adrenaline pumping, and can be just clean genuine fun. In general, it has no other purpose. 

If I was to ask why it is easier to trust these roller coasters and their engineers and maintenance workers than it is to trust God, I’m sure the answer would be similar to:

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 “we can see and touch the roller coasters, we can’t see and touch God”. 

We live by a show me and then I’ll believe type faith. Frankly this makes living a faith life led by an unseen God extremely difficult. 

We have seen enough rides work perfectly fine to disregard the fatal occurrences thinking, “that won’t happen to me”. This surefire faith is based on track records but just because we can see a thing doesn’t mean we can see all that is working behind the scenes. We can’t see fried wires, loose screws, or messed up breaks on these roller coasters as we stand in line—but we trust them. We can’t possibly be sure that our coaster wont get stuck mid loop or that our safety bars won’t release on us—but we trust them…with our lives. But what about when it comes to God?

The Green Lantern at Six Flags! I've been on this ride four times and have experienced pain each time...hasn't stopped me tho. If only I had this consistent steadfast devotion in life. 

It’s time we apply this roller coaster faith to how we approach our creator! When thinking about faith two scriptures come to mind: 
1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 
     - Hebrews 11:1

2)We walk by faith and not by sight 
     - 2Corinthians 5:7

No matter how many of us quote them they are hard to live by. We may have some areas in our lives that we allow faith to lead but there are some that if we are honest with ourselves we want God to show us before we believe. So even though we recite these scriptures we are really living by:

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of all that I see and we walk by sight! I’ll believe it after you show me.” God ain’t pleased with that guys. 

Getting off of Full Throttle

These roller coasters have a fairly decent track record for returning all its riders back to the launching pad safely. But doesn’t God have a track record of doing even better? Life is not always peaches and crème. We will experience death, other losses, seasons that feel like pure misery but I have seen people come out of these rough moments and shine brighter than ever before…if they let him flip it. (Genesis 50:20) 

Increasing our faith when it comes to the unseen takes practice and we are exposed right from the gate. God may say, trust me enough to receive me as your personal Savior. Then trust me enough to put down the addiction that has overwhelmed you for years and experience a new life in me. Trust me enough to leave that job and take one that pays significantly less knowing that I will provide you with all you need and more. 

Trusting an intangible God takes stepping out on faith and just going for it, like we do as we step out on the roller coaster platforms. Throwing all your fears and doubt out of the window is necessary. Locking yourself in with the safety bar of God’s word and the testimonies of others is encouraging and essential. On roller coasters once you start there’s no turning back. Think how far we would be if we did the same thing with God as we travel on the roller coasters of life. 

Just as we trust the coaster to bring us back to where we need to be we must trust God to do the same. You may get off a little dizzy or nauseas because not all rides/storms/seasons are smooth but know that God will let you off the ride a new man, better than ever before, and ready to take on any other coaster in your life with more grace and strength than the time before. 

We’ve put our trust in many things, don’t you think it’s time to fully put it in God? Our creator, the beginning and the ending, the all knowing, all present, and all powerful God? The roller coasters we sit in don’t know us from the next but God knows everything about us and all we need. Blind faith can lead us to an experience of a lifetime that we will miss out on if we chicken out and step over the seats of the ride and head straight to the exit.

Can you trust him to lead you today? To that new job, new church, new relationship, new school, or new business opportunity even though nothing looks like it makes sense or even close to what God promised? Let him lead, you just ride. He knows the track, he knows every turn, every loop, and every surprise twist. But will you trust him?

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