Who Has Your Rope?
If you have ever been to a camp or teambuilding experience you may have experienced a “High Ropes Course”. For those who have not seen or been on a high ropes course, it is a series of challenges that require a participant to climb a pole 35 to 40 feet in the air and walk across a cable that is about 3/8 of an inch thick. You have to climbed up a pole stepped onto the small cable, and walk across the cable to another pole while holding on to various things like dangling ropes or another cable. To complete the challenge, you must turn loose of the safe secure pole and step out onto a cable the size of your little finger. Now what I haven’t told you is you have on a safety harness that is attached to a rope. Depending on the course you are on the safety rope is either attached to another cable or it runs up through a pulley and down to a person on the ground that moves with you. The idea and reality is that if your feet slip off the cable you are walking on the rope attached to your safety harness will keep you from falling to the ground, but if you are afraid of heights, your brain will not accept that reality.
I am afraid of heights so I could climb the pole and feel safe as long as I held the pole firm in my arms. When it was time to step out onto the cable my brain and every fiber of my body said I was in grave danger. If you have had this experience it is about now that the person on the firm, safe ground holding onto your safety rope says “it is safe to step out onto the cable and walk across.” All the while my brain is screaming “NO IT’s NOT !!”. The brave person on the firm safe ground assures you that your are tied to a rope and will not fall. They also point out that the rope runs up to a cable that leads down to them. They say things like, “I’ve got you” and “I will not let you fall”. My brain is still screaming at me “DON’T DO IT”. You are high in the air, and someone is asking you to step out onto a cable you can barely see. The reality is that the person on the ground can in fact hold you up there if your feet slip off the cable. I have over the years held the safety rope for many people. Never once did I let anyone get hurt. As long as I held their rope, I could keep them safe.
Crossing that same cable without a safety rope would not be wise. You may be able to cross but the consequences of a fall would be devastating. The person holding your safety rope protects you from the devastating consequences of a fall. If your feet were to come off the cable and you were not able to get back up, the person on the other end of your safety rope would lower you to the ground. A ropes course gives you the perception of high risk but if done correctly and someone is holding tight to your safety rope the real risk is low.
The safety rope is the key to making you safe on a ropes course. Without the safety rope you would be insecure and vulnerable to a fall. We all feel insecure and vulnerable in our personal lives. Most people feel insecure in relationships, finances, jobs, school, and life. People feel vulnerable to criticisms all the time, so my question is “Who has your rope?”
In Acts 9:22-25, Paul finds his life in danger. People are waiting at the city gates to capture and kill him. Some of Paul’s friends hide him away. They develop a plan to lower Paul to safety outside the city walls using a basket and rope. It says that his followers took him by night, put him in a basket then through an opening in the wall they used a rope to lower him to safety outside the city walls. This kept Paul safe from those who would do him harm. They had Paul’s rope who has yours?
In Luke 5:17-26, Jesus was in town and people were crowding in to see him. The bible records that some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat they believed that Jesus could heal him if they could just get him there. The crowd was packed in so tight, they couldn’t get through. They didn’t give up. They went up onto the roof and removed some tiles. They then attached some ropes to the mat and lowered the paralyzed man down right in front of Jesus. I don’t want you to miss the most important part of this. In Verse 20 it says “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” When Jesus saw the faith of the men who held the ropes and lowered their friend safely down right in front of him, he healed the man. Without his friends the paralyzed man would not have been able to get to Jesus. Who has your rope?
We have a “rope” that will allow us to place ourselves, others, and problems right in front of Jesus. That “rope” is prayer. James 5: 14-16 says, “Is anyone among your sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
When you pray for one another, you are placing each other right in front of Jesus. So, let me ask you again: Who has your rope? Who is praying for you and for whom are you praying for? If you do not have that person in your life yet, pray that God will send you that close personal friend, one you can trust to place you right before Jesus by the power of prayer. God has given us a rope to keep us safe. Don’t attempt to go through life not using it.
