Belly Flop Of Faith

“You can do this!” friends on the ground cried out to me as I stood at the edge of the diving board, ready to fall face-first into the pool water, in hopes of winning the counselor belly flop competition at Forest Home Summer Camp.

We took our middle schoolers to camp this past month, and this was one of the many situations that I was peer pressured into by 50 students who desperately wanted to see their leader make a fool of herself. And I did! And I got a perfect score on that very painful belly flop - I’ll brag about that one forever.

As I stood at the edge of the diving board, my knees wobbled and my stomach churned. The fear of the unknown - I’d never intentionally belly-flopped before. The pressure of wanting to succeed and gain approval from the kids I love and serve. And then - the reminder, “You can do this!”

How many times have those words been told to you? On your first day of school as a young child. Whispered into your ear right before you walked down the aisle. Before a big presentation at work. In moments of desperate prayer. As it felt like the walls of depression were closing in. “You can do this!”

Our knees wobble as we look at the challenge ahead of us. “I can’t do this.” How will I be the best parent? How will I ever get through this mountain of work? How can I ever beat this feeling of failure? How will I ever master the belly flop? And whether it’s our community or our own voices of encouragement, we try to tell ourselves - “You’ve got this. It’ll be okay. You can do it!”

I don’t know about you, but when I’m facing a leap of faith off the diving board of life, those words unfortunately don’t help that much. Because “I” can’t! I don’t feel like I have it in me! The very person you’re telling me to believe in, I doubt the most! I can’t do this!

This is where the story of Gideon comes in. The story where God humbles a group of people and shows them that even with very little, they can do it - not because of themselves, but because of God!

12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

- Judges 6:12-14

When Gideon is challenged to trust that God will defeat Midian, even with a small army, Gideon’s knees wobble, his faith waivers, his mind whispers, “I can’t do this.” And then, the Lord reminds him, “Am I not sending you?”

The fatal flaw we make when we face a challenge is thinking OUR strength is what will get us through the battle.

Rather than listening to the chants, “YOU CAN DO THIS!” and trying to convince ourselves that it is true, instead we must remind ourselves, “Isn’t God the one sending you?”

If we’re relying on our strength, it makes sense to be terrified. We are fallible humans, bent towards weakness and sin. But if we’re relying on God’s strength, if we truly believe He has a plan for us, then it’s preposterous to doubt that we’ll find success. We may experience the emotions of fear and worry, and success may look different than we expect, but we can be confident in knowing that God will work things out for His good and that He has a plan for us.

Let’s remember the story of Gideon in the midst of our “belly-flop” moments. When you’re afraid, standing at the edge, about to take a leap of faith - let’s remind ourselves, “Isn’t God the one sending you?”

Cristina Schmitter

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