Today’s joke in our Laughter series may sound familiar to those of us with Myasthenia Gravis or any other chronic or life-threatening condition.
A man is hiking through the mountains when he suddenly slips and begins sliding off a steep cliff. As he’s falling, he manages to grab hold of a small branch protruding out of the side of the cliff. Dangling there, hundreds of feet off the ground, he looks up to the sky and yells, “Is anyone up there? Please help me!”
A deep, booming voice answers, “Yes, I am here. Do you believe in me?”
The man shouts back, “Yes! Yes, I believe! Please help me!”
The voice responds, “If you truly believe, then let go of the branch and I will save you.”
The man pauses for a moment, looks down at the rocky ground far below him, then looks up again and yells, “Is there anyone else up there?”
Sometimes in life, our faith gets tested. Most of us had a time when we were first diagnosed or were having symptoms where we asked God for help. Probably a good majority didn’t get the answer we were hoping for. Some may not have gotten an answer at all. Our faith was being tested.
Everyone will have moments in their lives when their faith in God is challenged. We often wonder why God would allow bad things to happen. We may never understand God’s reasoning. We simply need to have faith and know that whatever happens, He will be there for us.
In the joke, the man professed his belief multiple times; right up until the voice told him to let go of the branch. When that didn’t sound like the best option to him, he revealed his true lack of belief and challenged the instruction.
I’ve shared my journey with Myasthenia Gravis in several of my blogs. I’m not going to bore you with it again here. It’s enough to know I waited many, many years to finally be diagnosed. During most of that period of waiting, I asked God for help and for many years, the answer I received was the same….”Believe”. Most of the time, that wasn’t the answer I wanted. I wanted immediate help. I wanted God’s mercy and immediate healing…..like right now! There were times I was even tempted to say, “Is there anyone else up there?”
I know of only a handful of people in my life whose faith never seemed to waiver. It might have, but they never let on that it was wavering. Even in dire times, these people always appeared to me to be faithful. When I think of these people, I realize their faith wasn’t so strong because they were exceptionally blessed. Some of these people led very conservative and frugal lives. Their faith wasn’t always strong because God just blessed them with strong faith. No, their faith was strong because they spent years practicing and perfecting it. I’m absolutely sure they had moments of doubt. I’m absolutely sure they had times when they wondered if there was anyone else up there. At the point at which I knew them, however, they had honed their faith to be so strong that they never questioned what God was asking them to do. They just did it.
I want a faith that is that strong. Obviously, I’m not there yet because I still question God’s responses at times, but I’m working on it. I’m learning how to trust Him more and more each day. I’m learning to accept what He has planned for me. I’m learning to use the talents He’s given me. I’m learning how to accept the challenges He’s allowed. God is all powerful. If He wanted, He could stop every bad thing in the world from happening, but that’s not what He promised. He promised free will and the opportunity to be with Him forever if we believe and put our trust in Him. He doesn’t get upset when I slip. He just says, “Try again.”
I used to say, “Lord, grant me the faith to never doubt, to always be faithful and to trust You implicitly.” I no longer do that. I realize that’s an unfair request. If I really want to never doubt God, to always be faithful and to trust Him implicitly, then it’s up to me to put forth the effort to get there. He’ll help me, but I need to put forth the effort. I have to do the work. I have to practice and get back up when I fall. I have to keep going when I no longer feel I have the strength. I need to keep trying…trying until I reach the point where I’m ready to let go of the branch and put all my trust in Him.