This is the call all rock climbers wait for, and recognise as the signal to say “everything is as safe as it’s going to be for you to start climbing”.
The decision to set off climbing is now based on a mixture of faith in your ability to meet the challenges ahead, and confidence in your preparations. When I see someone leave prison, as a chaplain I face the same mixture of faith and fear. Instead of “climb when ready”, my parting shot is usually “I never want to see you again in my life!”
I can remember those feelings of faith when I was involved in pastoral ministry too. Having finished my sermon prep, made sure the worship team were briefed, that the welcome team were all sorted, the children’s workers had arrived, final prayers said (usually whilst in the loo!), and … ready. But always with a little fear, and always waiting for that little extra thing God might want to do on any given morning. For me, readiness needs to combine both preparation and faith. Only when I see these two combined can I bear the mixed feelings of the present.
As ministers in chaplaincy, church, pioneering or community settings our preparations are essential. But I have come to realise that we are only really ready when we combine this with faith in the one who will be with us on the next steps of the journey. We can look back and know that God has been at work in us to this point, but it is even more important that today we also realise that he will be with us as we journey forward. Today I need to know that God will help me face my anxieties with faith, trusting that he will speak clearly about the path which he will lead me on.
Having every little thing tied down is really not readiness. I am quite convinced that only when we combine our preparedness with faith are we truly ready. Only when we are in an attitude of listening to Jesus say “try fishing on the other side of the boat” (para John 21) are we really ready.
My prayer today is that daily we will face the opportunities and challenges that will surely come along. Prepared, perhaps a little fearful, but ready.
We have made things as safe as they can be, to get off the ground we need to be “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6)
Climb when ready! The journey for today awaits 😊
Revd Bob Wilson
Secretary for the Free Church Prison Chaplaincy
This article was originally written for Eastern Baptist Association.
