Where to Look - How to Stand

Back in college, I was one of the cool kids. 

You know the ones I’m talking about - they’re the ones out in the quad - one of them is sitting against a tree, some others working on setting up a hammock, all of them watching the one in the hot seat - swinging, balancing, arms outstretched, totally calm:

They’re the slack liners.

Actually, you really might not know what I’m talking about. Seems that South Carolina missed the slacklining days (or is just way past them). Here’s a link to a video of some people who are really good at it. (For the record, I was not really good at it.)

It’s kind of like a high stakes lawn game. You take what’s essentially a cargo strap and set it around two trees about twenty feet apart and tighten it down reeeeeeal good. Then you walk on it. 

It’s so hard at first because the strap just JIGGLES beneath the untrained foot. Not a gentle jiggle, but a violent, shaking, jiggly jiggle that whips you off for about the first day of attempts. High stakes lawn game indeed. After a little while of getting back on and trying again, though, it gets better. Even fun.  

The trick is deciding on a fixed point of reference and keeping your feet set when things get shaky. 

I would pick a spot on the tree just above the line. It’s wild, the shakes you can stand through when you know where to look and how to stand. 

– 

A couple weeks ago in chapel, Maddy Woodford of Women’s Min told a great “slack-lining” story. You should listen to it here - it was wonderful. It was about Peter and Jesus walking on the water. Things got shaky. Peter forgot where to look and lost his footing. Can’t blame him. The first day can be the hardest. 

Things can get pretty shaky sometimes - nationally, academically, relationally, emotionally, etc…

Do you know where to look? How to stand? 

Here’s a few of my go-to places to stand. 

• Everything is going to be ok. (Romans 8:28)
• I might not always know where I am, but I know I’m not lost. (Isaiah 40:26)
• My worst day does not get the last word. (John 16:33) 
• I am secure. (Romans 8)
• God is right here. God is guiding me. God has a glorious destination in mind for me. (Psalm 73:23-24)
• God is over it all. (Daniel 2:20-23)

As far as where to look - it’s the same for us as it was for Peter: Look at Jesus. 

Jesus is the foundation and fruition of all of these promises. If we look to our leaders, our bank accounts, our feelings, our test scores, or our friendships as the way in which we confirm the truths on which we stand, we’ll find ourselves whipped right off the line every time things don’t go our way. 

Maybe you’re feeling whipped right off today. Can’t blame you. The first days are the hardest. And in a life that spans all eternity, you may have a lot of “first days” left to go. Get back on and try again. It gets better. Even fun. 

Look at Jesus. Stand on his promises. 

It’s wild, the shakes you can stand through when you know where to look and how to stand.