Is Anybody Else Up There?
Hey there,
I came across this little story again the other day and it still makes me smile… Thought I’d share it with you because I have a feeling some of you might need it too:
A guy’s walking along a narrow path one day and suddenly—oops—he slips right off the edge of a huge cliff. On the way down he grabs a branch sticking out of the rock and hangs on for dear life.
He yells up, “Help! Is anybody up there?”
A voice answers, “Yes, I’m here.”
“Who is that?” the man calls back.
“It’s the Lord.”
“Lord, help me!”
The Lord says, “Do you trust Me?”
“I trust You completely, Lord!”
“Good,” the Lord replies. “Let go of the branch.”
The man is quiet for a second… then shouts, “Is anybody else up there?…”
It’s funny because it’s so painfully human. We say we trust God—until trusting Him means letting go of the very thing we’re gripping for dear life. A job. A relationship. A plan. A habit. Our own understanding of how things should work. We want God’s help, but we want it on our terms. We want a safety net we can see.
Yet real faith almost always requires us to release something visible so we can cling to Someone invisible.
My favorite verse since I was a young man has always been Proverbs 3:5-6:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
That little phrase “lean not on your own understanding” is the key here. Because my understanding usually says, “Don’t let go! That’s crazy!” But God’s ways are higher. Sometimes He asks us to release the very thing that feels like it’s keeping us alive… because He knows He can catch us.
Think about Peter stepping out of the boat onto the water. Or Abraham raising the knife over Isaac. Or the widow pouring out her last bit of oil. In every case, the miracle was on the other side of letting go.
So here’s my question for both of us this week: What branch are you gripping right now that God might be gently asking you to release?
Maybe it’s control. Fear. Bitterness. That “just in case” backup plan. Whatever it is, He’s not asking you to jump blindly—He’s asking you to trust the One who loves you more than you love yourself.
If you’re in a spot where you feel like you’re dangling, you’re not alone. I’ve been there more times than I can count. But every single time I’ve finally opened my hands, God has been faithful. Not always in the way I expected, but always in the way I needed.
Let’s trust Him together this week—really trust Him. Even when it feels scary. Especially when it feels scary.
I’m cheering for you, friend. Drop me a note if you want to share what you’re learning— I’d love to hear it.
~ Charlie
