The Climbing Tower

 

Up until the age of 10 I was brilliant at climbing.  Up and down trees all day long.  So when I heard that my school was going to do weekly trips to the youth activity centre in Weymouth to experience rock hopping, canoeing and caving, I was proper excited.  I was even more pleased when I heard week one would be my specialism, climbing, though this time not trees but the climbing tower.  I was so confident that I told everybody how good I would be, especially the girls who were starting to turn my head.  I explained that by the end of the day my nickname would be Spiderman!  My confidence did not waver all day until at the bottom of the tower they did the strangest things, they gave me safety equipment!  Why?! Is climbing potentially dangerous?!  I started to panic.  Not wanting to embarrass myself I set off on my climb only to freeze half way, panicking like never before.  I was frozen to the spot for over an hour as I refused to move a muscle.  I was literally scared stiff.  When they finally convinced me to come down I had been given a new nickname, Spiderman but only up short heights! 

I wonder if you are scared stiff?  Frozen and clinging on for dear life?  Anxiousness is so common today that 1in 6 people can suffer from it. By the year 2020 it will be the second most common cause of suffering.  There is a Swedish proverb that says that worry gives a small thing a big shadow.  Worry is wasting today’s time to clutter up tomorrows opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.  Anxiety does nothing of benefit for our lives, in fact is only detrimental.  Anxiety steals our joy, steals are contentment, steals our confidence and anxiety steals our ability to trust in God. In a very real way people are paralysed by fear, unable to do things, unable to live life to the full.  People are literally scared stiff and frozen to the climbing towers of life. 

God is with you.  The most common command in the scriptures ‘do not be afraid’, because ‘I will be with you’.  All through scriptures whether, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua or King David, ‘do not be afraid for I will be with you’.  All those main characters of the Christmas story, Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds, ‘do not be afraid for I will be with you’.  Then the great crescendo He comes, Immanuel, God is with us.  So as Peter tells us we can now ‘cast all our anxieties on to him for he cares’.  Wherever you are frozen, whatever is scaring you stiff, hear the good news of the bible ‘there is no need to be afraid, for I will be with you’. 

There is something we can do though!  Peter tells us to cast our anxieties on to him.  This suggests a movement, an action by us.  During the holiest weeks when Jesus was at his most scared he went to pray at Gethsemane. It tells us in the Gospel accounts he went there as ‘usual’ to pray and it also tells us that Judas knew where to find him because he would be where he usually was, in Gethsemane praying to his father.  When we are frozen and scared stiff to the climbing towers of life we can find our Gethsemane the place where we meet with God.  It could be a garden, a walk, a church building, listening to music, gathering with friends and it is there we need to  spend as much time being filled with the presence of our God who says to us ‘do not be afraid for I will be with you’. 

Whatever you are going through, whatever things are robbing you of your joy, whatever things are causing shadows to fill your life may you find your Gethsemane.  The place you meet with God.  And may you find him there saying, ‘do not be afraid for I am with you’.  From there may he lead you once again into fullness of life.