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The Ledge

A Simple Hike

The story goes …

Once upon a time, there was a businessman visiting the mountains. On the last day of his business trip he decided to hike up one of the nearby mountains.

By mid-morning, he found a young man who was willing to guide him for a day-hike. What he failed to realize — and what the guide failed to share with him — is that starting a hike that late in the morning was a problem since weather systems tended to come in rapidly in the early afternoon. Regardless, they started up the trail.

As early afternoon approached, the clouds moved in and the temperature began to drop quickly. Neither hiker was prepared for cold weather. Both were in hiking shorts, t-shirts, hiking boots and light jackets. They had small backpacks with water and snacks, but no inclement weather gear.

They continued the hike up the mountain trail as the sky began to darken and snow began to fall. It fell lightly at first; then more swiftly. The wind picked up. Both climbers slowed their pace and the businessman found himself staring intently at his guide's footprints in front of him. The guide's steps became slower and slower — they had lost the trail in the snow. Now above the tree-line, they could barely see six feet in front or behind them.

The guide's pace slowed until he finally came to a full stop.

Reality (Frost)bites

The businessman asked, "Why have we stopped?"

"I don't know exactly where we are on the side of the mountain," the guide yelled back through the wind and snow.

"What's the problem?" the businessman inquired. Then the guide announced, "There's a 200 foot crevasse that runs along the side of this trail. I fear we are too close to it and I'm afraid that if we keep going I'll lead us over the side."

The businessman recognized the dilemma: bad weather, unprepared climbers, lost on the trail, and in danger of falling off a cliff. The predicament was clear. But the solution was simple, he thought: "We'll just go back down the trail."

"We can't," replied the guide, "the snow has covered the trail and the crevasse winds along the path, so to go back might also mean walking off the side of the cliff." The two men stood in silence as the reality of their situation fell upon them.

Questioning the Voice

Suddenly, a voice came out of the snow from their right. "You guys are in trouble aren't you?" It wasn't a question. "I've been watching you from above for a while now. You're right, the crevasse is there, about eight or so feet away, running between us. If you would have kept going, you would have walked off the side."

"But what do we do now?" the businessman yelled into the blizzard.

"Well, you can't go back, because, as your guide said, you would also risk walking into the crevasse. I'll walk down the mountain and send help up in the morning. I think your only chance for survival is to move to the edge of the crevasse, ease yourself over and drop onto the ledge that's about eight feet down the side of the cliff."

The questions began to flood their minds so quickly, they didn't know where to start: What ledge? How does he know there is a ledge? Why should I trust him? Who is he anyway? What if there is no ledge?

The men unleashed a deluge of questions toward the voice in the storm. How did he know about the ledge? He'd lived on the mountain his whole life. Had he ever been on the ledge? Yes, several times. How big was the ledge? It was big enough to hold them. What was his name again? His name was Carl.

The guide recognized the name and knew his reputation as a well-known mountaineer from the area. The questions went on and on, finally ending with, "Why should we trust you?" The answer, "Because if you choose not to trust me, you will surely die from exposure on the side of this mountain."

A Leap of Faith

With that, Carl's voice trailed off and he headed down the mountain for help. The two men were left alone to decide what they would do. Knowing that deep in their hearts they needed to trust the voice in the snow, they slowly made their way to the edge of the crevasse.

When they reached the edge, they looked intently over the side. They didn't know if they could even make out the shadow of the ledge as the light faded and the snow swirled thickly around them.

The guide went first. He lowered himself over the side and hung down by his fingertips. Slowly each finger released until he dropped out of sight and landed with a thud on the ledge. Then the businessman, shaking from the cold and nerves, lowered himself slowly over the edge. He too gripped the edge of the cliff with all of his strength until the weight of his body pulled him downward. He also landed on the firm footing of the ledge.

The two men spent the night out of the wind and snow, huddled together until help came to rescue them in the sunrise of the next morning. And indeed they lived happily ever after.

Certain of What We Do Not See?

Too often, the world would love to point the finger at Christians and describe our faith as blind and ignorant. In the world's eyes, believers hear about the ledge, then run to the edge and jump off just hoping that it exists. I've searched God's Word quite a bit and I've never read of such an uninformed faith.

I believe that God wants us to test Him and ask tough questions — get to know Him in a way that builds an incredible trust so that when He does tell us about the ledge, we will willingly follow His lead to the edge.

Does it still take faith? You bet!

C O F F E E  S H O P

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What does it really mean to have faith? Is it a blind leap or a knowledgeable step?

Join the discussion!

When our fingers actually let go of the edge of the cliff, we are exercising a full measure of the faith God wants from us — but we do it knowing the voice in the storm so well that we can trust His word and direction.

What kind of faith do you have?