Clinging to the cross or to rocks?

"God’s purpose for my life was that I have a passion for God’s glory and that I have a passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion."
— Jonathan Edwards



As the title goes about what the Lord has placed on my heart, it seems to be a strange title, but in reality it is a perplexed question that we all need to answer for ourselves.

We all have life experiences that change us for the good, but there are also things in life that happen that scare us, scare us to the point to the state of clinging. Clinging can be a good thing but it is not a very comfortable position to be in.

Today, I went to the lake with a group of my closest friends. It was so fun! But to get to what I am trying to illustrate is different than me spending time with my friends or having fun at the lake. We went to a large rock that is famous for people jumping off of it, I think the name is Chimney Rock? Not sure about the name, but it will do! Anyways, we went to this rock and now thinking about it, it can be looked at in many different ways. I am reading a book call Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and it had something in there that sparked my thinking. Today, when I was climbing to get to the top of the rock to jump off, I froze. It was a scary, clinging position that was so uncomfortable. All my friends had gone before me, and were waiting for me to climb to join them. Something about the slippery rock and the fact that we were 60 ft in the air was not very comforting.
The illustration that is best shown by this occurrence is that I was so scared to let go of the rocks, which could be worries,troubles, anxiety about a situation, etc. Do we constantly hang on to the rocks in life? Scared that we will slide off or fall for that matter? When in reality all we have to do it jump off and into the water and life that the Lord wants us to have all along.

But unfortunately, most of us, I know I do, we all struggle to let go of the rock or rocks. We are so scared of what it will be like to hit the water from that far up. It is a fear that is unnecessarily the most troubling thing in anyone's life and spiritual walk.

So do we cling to the cross? Or just to the rocks?

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." Psalm 37:23