Trusting In the Unseen~Riding in A Hot Air Balloon

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is ending today. These pictures were taken sometime this week. Every day there is something new to see...the Mass Ascension, the special shapes, the races, and the balloon glow at night. Many people pay to take a ride in one of the beautiful balloons, and as you can see, it's a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Would you be brave enought to climb into a basket and take a ride in a hot air balloon? 

Trust is the basis of Chapter 2 of Meeting God in Quiet Places by F. LaGard Smith.  Here he's comparing the trust you must have in the person who is flying the balloon--that they will take you up and bring you down safely--to the trust you must have in God with your life. It's easier for you to trust a person that you can see than it is to trust an invisible power that you can't see. And you're more easily persuaded that you'll be safe in a real person's basket, because you might trust someone you can see, but you aren't likely to trust an invisible power you can't see. And isn't faith in the unseen what faith is all about?

 Think about seeing a balloon floating lazily in the sky...you think about how much fun it would be to ride in it. Or maybe you run after it as it floats along. But the question is, would you actually ride in it? You must answer the same question about trusting God enough to get into His basket and give him control of your life. You may feel confined at first because you have to do things His way...which goes against the grain. But isn't that a normal response to giving up control? 

Have you ever really given up control to God, been dependent on God, and felt how freeing it is? Here LaGard gives you something more to think about: "Jesus talked about the kind of freedom that is really free. 'If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,' said Jesus. What makes us really free? In the words of Jesus 'the truth will set you free.' The truth that we are never in control even when we think we are. The truth that a life without God is the most fearful life anyone can live. The truth that the most fulfilled people in the world are those who have 'let go and let God'." 

But letting go isn't all that easy, is it? We cling to our fears and stay on the ground. We cling to our fears and stay out of God's basket. What is preventing you from climbing into the basket and taking off with God? What is preventing others? Sometimes you may run after God--like running after the balloon--to seek a relationship with Him. But running and seeking are just replacements for actually letting go of everything that is holding you back and knowing true freedom. 

Allow yourself to compare the feeling of letting go of everything to take a ride in a hot air balloon with letting go and letting God control your life. Both choices are yours! You can experience the exhilaration, freedom and joy of being carried along by God in your life. The sensation will be very much like that of riding in a hot air balloon!

Have a wonderful day~

Blessings...Mimi