Blindfolds and Tightropes: Walking By Faith

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV)

Nik Wallenda knows what it feels like to walk a tightrope 1500 feet above solid ground. He’s felt the 45 mph winds that threaten his balance, and the birds that fly in for a closer look. This seventh-generation member of the “Flying Wallendas” knows the feeling of walking along that tightrope blindfolded and unharnessed, guided by his father’s voice to the safety of the other side. He holds 9 Guinness World Records for his accomplishments on the wire. Earlier this month, with thousands watching and cheering him on, he walked fifty-one stories above downtown Chicago on a tightrope secured between two skyscrapers. Blindfolded for a portion of the journey, he listened as that familiar voice guided him safely across, and thanked God along the way.

Mr. Wallenda also knows the preparation involved in safely making it through his journeys above the earth, and he’s been practicing for 3-4 hours most days since the age of two. Preparation is essential for his survival on the tightrope, and Wallenda must be prepared for what may occur… During practice, his support team even pushes him in an attempt to get him to fall from the practice wire, much like the strong winds he will encounter during an actual stunt. “The wire is never the same twice,” Wallenda points out.

Life can feel like a walk on a tightrope while blindfolded! Strong winds of adversity try to push us from the direction God is leading us to follow, and like the varying wire of a tightrope, each situation that requires our faith will be different from the one before. Balance is essential, and trust in the Voice that guides us will determine our ability to make it to the other side—the side we cannot see when we are in the middle. Walking in faith, trusting in God, will lead us safely to the other side– whatever we are facing in our lives. And like walking a tightrope, it requires time, practice, and patience. But God is faithful, and we can be assured that He will lead us in our walk of faith—we are never alone.