Riding on a rollercoaster can be a lot of fun. The twists and turns during a rollercoaster ride can get your blood pumping and heart pounding. And there’s nothing scarier than riding a rollercoaster without a floor. The first time I went on a floorless rollercoaster, I was scared out of my mind. My feet were dangling, and I was concerned I might not make it. In a coaster without a floor, you’ve got to put all your trust in the ride’s restraints. You have to believe that the restraints will keep you safe during the ride.
A lot of the time, taking a stand for God can feel just as scary as riding a floorless rollercoaster. Taking a stand for God can be really scary. You can wonder if it will be worth it, or if God will really come through for you. There’s a story in the Bible about Elijah that shows what can happen if you take a stand for God. Elijah challenged a bunch of people who didn’t believe in God to a contest to prove that Elijah’s God was real.
Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed. – 1 Kings 18:24 (NLT)
Elijah went out of his way to take a stand for God. He poured tons of water on his wood. His goal was to really make it obvious that when God lit his wood on fire that God was real. Elijah trusted in God. He trusted that God was going to come through for him and not leave him hanging.
Just like when you ride a rollercoaster you have to trust the restraints to keep you safe, when you take a stand for God, you have to trust that God will come through for you. Elijah did just that. He trusted that God had his back. He trusted God so much that he poured water on his wood just to prove that God was big enough to light wet wood on fire. And God did it. God came through for Elijah. God lit the wood on fire, water and all.
What God did for Elijah, he’ll do for you. This isn’t to say that you should prove to your friends at school that God is real by praying to God to light a bonfire for you. But it does show us that when you take a stand for God, God will come through for you. Taking a stand for God takes faith. It takes you trusting God and relying on Him to keep you safe.
So challenge yourself today to trust God. Just like you have to trust the restraints on a rollercoaster, trust God that he will come through for you and keep you safe. Trust that God will have your back when you take a stand for Him.