“REED” This
High Places
As I arrived at the church office this morning, I drove into the back parking lot and had to come to a stop. There was a truck partially blocking the drive. The doors on that truck were also open, restricting room to get around it. I was a little perturbed until I noticed just beyond the truck was a ladder that extended all the way to the top of the building with a man standing at the top working under the eave. He may have parked as he did for his own safety from people like me. I carefully eased around the truck and ladder to reach a spot to park. As I got out of my truck and walked toward the door of the building, I looked up to see what the man might be working on. I couldn’t tell, but what I immediately thought was this guy was either brave or crazy. To be standing at the top of a thin aluminum ladder sitting on asphalt that was extended three stories high made me nervous just looking at him, let alone being the one on the ladder. I’ve been on a ladder like that almost that high and didn’t like it, and my ladder was sitting on dirt. I don’t mind heights. I’m perfectly fine standing on a high place like a mountain, a building, or a bridge because I feel safe and secure. But a thin, slim, flexible, aluminum ladder that can easily slide out at the bottom or slide over at the top is not a place I want to be. I’ve climbed a water tower and a fire tower several times and felt fine. But those are stationary. The chance one of those would fall over while I was on it was very small.
Some people are afraid of heights. My father was somewhat that way because of an incident that occurred when he was a child. He and his mother were riding a Ferris wheel and were near the top. The bolt on one side had come loose and they were hanging to one side and praying the bolt on the other side would not give. They were yelling down to the workman, but he couldn’t hear them as he was letting other passengers off and on in the other seats. Slowly the wheel turned until finally they were close enough for the workman to hear them and he got them down before their seat gave way. Other people never experienced anything that frightening, yet they still don’t like heights.
As I’ve thought about it, it’s not really a fear of heights, it’s more a fear of falling. As humans, we were not made to be able to fly on our own. A bird that falls out of a nest that is high in a tree is perfectly fine to deal with falling because it was designed and made to fly. That bird can spread its wings and gracefully glide through the air and even fly back up to the nest. We humans cannot do that. Yet, many people still enjoy being in a high place. It’s fun to be on the top of a mountain and able to look out over the valley below and see for miles and miles. Or to look out the window of a plane and see a vast area of landscape beneath. I enjoy while driving across the Sydney Lanier Bridge looking out to see the tidal rivers and marsh, the islands, St. Simons Sound, and even the Atlantic Ocean. Even climbing the lighthouse and looking out over the trees and water can give a deeper appreciation for God’s creation as one sees it from above. High places give us a different perspective. We see things that we may see every day, but from a different angle and we have a different view. These different views almost always lead me to praise God. The high places allow me to see things I haven’t seen before, and I can praise God for that part of His creation. I can praise Him for the beauty that my eyes can behold at that time. I can praise Him more because I can understand a little more who He is as He is revealed to me in a new way. My appreciation for His greatness is renewed and strengthened because of His majesty that is around me and below me. I feel closer to Him because He has revealed to me another part of Him.
Shaky ladders should probably be avoided. But seek out high places where you can see God’s creation in a new way. Let the different views of His creation lead you to praise Him.
“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things, and they exist because You created what You pleased.” Revelation 4:11 NLT
Bro. Paul Reed
Tuesday, April 26, 2022