On the Wire

Our walk with Jesus is a walk of faith - we instructed by Scripture to place our faith in Him, a faith that grows as we digest the Word of God and apply it to our lives.  Complete surrender may be perceived as being somewhat risky sometimes, but we can be confident in His strength to uphold us.  We are encompassed by His everlasting arms, according to Deuteronomy 33 (ESV):
26 “There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty.
27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms...

It was big news around the Atlanta area and North Georgia when highwire artist Karl Wallenda walked on a wire over the majestic Tallulah Gorge in 1970.  According to his great-grandson's website: "His most famous walk was a 1200-foot long trek across the Tallulah Falls Gorge in Georgia, where 30,000 people watched as the 65-year-old legend performed two separate headstands at a height of over 700 feet in the air."  

His great-grandson, Nik, has performed a few feats of his own, including being the first person to walk over Niagara Falls, which he accomplished in 2012.   A Movieguide article related: "Wallenda has performed dozens of death-defying feats including walking a tightrope across Niagara Falls, across the Grand Canyon, between two skyscrapers in Chicago and walking across an active volcano in Nicaragua. Many of these stunts have been performed for TV, and he wears a microphone, through which viewers can hear him reciting scripture to himself to calm his mind."

That article quotes from an interview with actor Kirk Cameron, in which he said: “Well, the Word promises a peace that passes all understanding. People ask me all the time, ‘How do you stay peaceful in a stressful situation?’ Well, I cast my cares to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” adding, "And that is how I’m able to get through and get across from one side to the other.”

The article goes on to say: 

“I believe that God has given me this talent, and I use it to bring glory to His name…I train properly for the talents and the gifts that He’s given me so that I’m ready to face any challenge. Where my faith comes into play is that I know where I’m going to go whether I were to die in an airplane crash, in a car crash, or of natural causes or in a wire accident,” Wallenda said. “And I have the confidence of knowing where I’m going when I die.”

Because he is bold about his faith, Wallenda has received countless testimonies from fans after he performs stunts where they get to hear him rely on the Lord for strength. This places the tightrope walker in the same category as many other Christians who are professional athletes and have used their platform to share their faith.

The Wallenda family has certainly been known for the risks that its members take.  Nik is described as a "seventh-generation" tightrope walker.  But, while Nik may seem to be a risky sort, he certainly is not reckless - he trains for the challenge.  He also prepares logistically. His website notes that after his great-grandfather Karl fell to his death in Puerto Rico after the collapse of the rigging for a wire, he and his father will "always oversee every inch of rigging themselves."

This can be instructive for us in our pursuit of the Christian life.  We grow in our faith as we immerse ourselves in the Word and as we seek to apply it in our lives.  The seed of the Word in our hearts will produce fruit for God's glory.   And, when we let go of our own desires and decisions and allow God to take control, one might think that to be risky, but in the Lord is the safest place on earth.

And, beyond this world, as well.  Nik Wallenda knows where he's going when he dies - he doesn't know, nor do we, how that might take place - maybe involving a wire, maybe not, but he is confident that he knows where he will be when he leaves this world.  The believer in Christ can possess that same confidence - if Jesus is our Lord and Savior, we can know that we will be with Him for eternity in heaven.