The wind blew back my hair as I plunged down the waterfall. It was a steep drop, plummeting down thousands of feet. In that quick moment, I caught sight of a flash of purple— a flock of birds flew past me. Just when I thought I was done for, I swooped back up and glided over the outrageously green forest canopy, the thundering roar of the waterfall behind me.

Nope, I am not imagining this ‘Yeah, right. Sure you did!” scenario. Neither have I started writing fantasy fiction (I wouldn’t want to give JK Rowling a run for her money now, would I?) And I definitely have not morphed into an adventurous Amelia Earhart since I wrote my last blog post.

That was a description of the 3D Flight of Passage Avatar ride we recently hopped on at Disney World, Orlando. As we soared through the world of Pandora, through the magic of VR we experienced the wonder of mythical lands. (It behooves me to insert here that there was nothing magical about waiting in line for an insanely, unreasonably, mind-numbingly long time to get on the ride. Not that I am complaining or anything. Okay, fine, that was a thinly-veiled complaint. I needed to vent.).

Now that our kids are teenagers, the husband and I can’t use them as an excuse to stick with the tamer ‘It’s A Small World’/ ‘Magic Tea Cup’ type rides. Turns out, bonding with your teens requires some level of manning up. So, man up we did.

We stood in other insanely, unreasonably, mind-numbingly long lines before we careened through the darkness of ‘Space Mountain,’ hurtled down the plunging peaks of ‘Expedition Everest’ and strapped ourselves into uber cool bikes for the This-might-be-the-end ‘Tron’ ride.

But here’s the thing. I wasn’t nervous. Honest. Of course, adrenalin pumped through me as if I had just had an infusion of espresso in my veins, but I wasn’t actually fearful. After avoiding the scary rides during our previous visits to Disney, my lack of fear this time around astounded me.

And then it hit me. I wasn’t super nervous because I trusted Disney. I trusted the brand, the reputation of the company, the flawless track record of the rides, the equipment we were strapped into, and the strength of the twisting metal that held the weight of thousands who visited the park daily. I hadn’t the faintest idea about the sharp turns and steep plunges of the rides. Not a clue. But I was okay. Actually, I was better than okay—I had a blast.

As I rode those hair-raising roller coasters I couldn’t help but think: What if I trusted God like I trusted a theme park ride at Disney World?

What if I strap into whatever course He has planned for me on and say, “God, I have absolutely no idea where I’m going, but I trust that You got this.”

What if I trusted His character?

What if I trusted His track record?

What if I trusted that His strength is enough to carry me through all the dark twists and sharp drops of life?

Wouldn’t that suck the fear and trepidation out of the journey?  Wouldn’t that open the doors to a worry-free perspective? Wouldn’t that propel me into the abundant life He has planned?

Instead, most often we go, “But God, let me check my safety harness just one more time,” and then tug on the yellow rope of our bank accounts, our reputations, our connections, our stuff, our intellect, our education, our EQ, our pleasing personalities again and again.

But God says to us today: Put your trust in Me. Lean into Who I am and not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

When we let go and let God, the ride is simply not scary anymore. Sure, it may be unexpected. It may be adventurous. It may lead you through blindingly dark tunnels where you can’t even see your own hand. But when we trust God, He replaces fear with faith.

I don’t know what challenges lie around the corner for you. I don’t know if your heart is already pounding with fear about life’s stomach-churning situations. I don’t know if the tunnel already feels too dark, too scary, or too long.

But I do know that when we trust our always good, infinitely loving, perfectly Sovereign God, we can ride through the unknowns with confidence and peace. And so together with you, I say today in the words of David in Psalm 31, “But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands.

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