One of my favorite scenes from Indiana Jones comes toward the end of the one with the holy grail. Indiana has to pass a certain number of tests if he is going to find the grail. The last and final test before he gets the treasure is the hardest of all. He must take a leap of faith. He is standing on the edge of what appears to be a bottomless chasm and he must step off the cliff trusting that somehow it will be okay. There is no bridge and there seems to be no conceivable way that this step off the ledge will not result in death. Indiana’s father is dying at this point and water from the holy grail is the only chance that he has to survive. Failure is not an option. So he decides to step off the edge in a bold leap of faith and out of nowhere…a bridge appears. The bridge had been there all along but it wasn’t visible and only the leap of faith would reveal it.

I don’t think I would have had the courage to make the leap. I like to have things figured out and the idea of just stepping out with no backup plan terrifies me. The reality however, is that sometimes steps like these are required when walking with God. You don’t know how things are going to turn out but something deep inside is compelling you to take a bold step. It forces you to confront your deepest insecurities and darkest fears. The risk involved could not be greater but the potential reward is also tremendous. What do you do? What do I do? To not decide is to decide not to and to decide not to is to forfeit whatever reward may be on the other side. That said, if you take the step and it doesn’t work then you have nothing to fall back on. This is where heroes are made.

Is there a step that you need to take? You’ve rationalized it through and you’ve sought wisdom but now there’s only one thing left to do…you must take the step. My encouragement and challenge to all of us is to go for it. I can’t imagine a more haunting question then, “What if?” What if you took that job? What if you took that step? What if you made that phone call? I would think that there are way too many people who get to the end of their lives and are plagued by that question. Now is decision time. Will you be one of the few that takes the bold step when it is required or will your life be characterized by the path of least resistance? It’s up to you now.