I remember the first time I jumped out of an airplane. Weeks of training in the US Army had led to that moment; I endured the physical difficulties of training and had put up with the elements just to have this opportunity! We trained, we rehearsed, we practiced, for one reason alone…to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. As the day approached, I was excited and ready to portray how prepared I was. I put on my gear, donned my parachute, and walked out to the plane. “Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door, jump right out, and count to four!” had been our cadence. I was 18 years old at the time and ready for adventure—or so I thought.

There were many soldiers around me, each of us doing this for the first time, and each of us portraying our excitement instead of our fear. As the plane took off, I remember thinking, “What have I gotten myself into? Why did I choose to do this?” There was no turning back—if you were on this airplane, you were jumping out of it. As the doors opened and I stood up, I thought about how I had to completely trust the equipment. I had practiced many times, but that day I had to really put my trust in something other than myself.

I couldn’t lean on my own understanding—trust was all I had left.

I hooked up my static line, shuffled to the door, got in position, and jumped. No one knew how scared I was on that first jump. All in all, I have jumped out of a perfectly good airplane 18 times. Each time, I was scared, but each time became a little easier than the last.

I don’t know what your circumstances are today, but this I do know: You can trust God! You can trust Him with your whole heart! Don’t lean on your own understanding. It gets easier every time to trust Him. You have a relationship with our Almighty God—you have access to His power and have been trained by His wisdom! Whatever the leap of faith you need to take may be, trust in Him!

Prayer for the week: Father, help me today to trust in You! Make the connection between my heart and my mind that I can live in faith, that Your way is better than mine. I trust You alone and want to live today by Your understanding of my life and not my own. Amen.

Wendell Brown is district superintendent of the North Central Ohio District Church of the Nazarene. He is also the founder of Tragedy Into Triumph, a nationwide simulcast reaching hundreds of thousands of people over the last 12 years for the gospel of Christ. He is passionate about discipleship and finding new ways to tell the story of God’s love!

Please note: All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of original publication but may have since changed.

Written for devotions.