On June 30, 1859, Jean-François Gravelet, danced with death. Nicknamed Blondin, Gravelet set his heart on walking a tightrope across Niagara Falls. The crowds hushed as he took his first step onto the tightrope, inching his way across the great divide with nothing but air and blue skies between the foamy water and the cable beneath his feet. After seventeen long minutes, Blondin reached his final destination only to turn around, amaze the crowd, and cross again. He became an instant sensation and continued his dangerous tightrope crossings in future years, once carrying his friend on his back, and another time crossing blind-folded.
Life can feel a lot like balancing on a tightrope—as if we are only one step away from falling headfirst into a sea of overwhelming chaos. Both in ministry and in today’s culture I see women walking a tightrope as they try to bridge the gap between the simple call of Christ and the pressures of this world. Deep down our hearts beat to the rhythm of simplicity, but our surroundings are filled with needs, distractions, and noise that divide our attention. Jesus knew that we would battle having a divided heart. He successfully walked the tightrope of this life, conquered every temptation we face, lived with purpose and focus, and had one simple goal in all He did—to bring glory to His Father.
In Matthew 22:37 He summed up all the commandments into one great commandment when He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Following Jesus is an “all or nothing” deal. He calls for whole-hearted devotion and surrender to Him that is united in love. The pressure on women in today’s culture has led to a recipe of half-hearted attempts to do “all” things and results in tangled-up affections. In many ways, we have been set up to walk on a tightrope each day, juggling an overflowing planner, carrying the expectations of others, and inching along blind-folded with little direction.
Jesus bridged the gap in this great divide so we no longer have to walk on a tightrope. He set the stage for a life of purpose and He calls for His people to forsake the tightrope and follow Him whole-heartedly. In Psalm 86:11-12, King David prayed about his own struggle with walking on a tightrope in this world—“Teach me Your way, Yahweh, and I will live by Your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name. I will praise You with all my heart, Lord my God, and will honor Your name forever.” The NIV version puts it, “Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name.” Undivided devotion leads to a heart that is in awe of God and not overwhelmed by all we feel we need to do. It means we look to Christ and all that He has done for us, setting our hearts and minds to do one thing—love Him whole-heartedly.
The enemy of this world knows that he cannot hurt Christian women or steal their identity that is forever hidden in Christ. Instead, he does what he knows best—he uses our planners, our pride, and our present worries to divide our hearts from full devotion to Jesus to a half-hearted love for Him. If you are walking on a tightrope, about to topple over the edge trying to do it “all” when Jesus simply calls you to follow Him and love God with your whole heart, join David in praying Psalm 86:11-12. Living a life of whole-hearted devotion to Jesus is not a complex formula and it is not a list of dos or don’ts. It is simply loving Him, being “all in” and consumed by the beauty of the gospel, and forsaking the tightrope of this world for a cross that leads to eternal life.
A prayer for the tightrope walker:
- Ask God to teach you His ways. We often live with blind spots, busy schedules, and blisters on our feet from walking a tightrope in this life. Welcome God into your schedule and ask Him to point out where you are living with half-hearted devotion. Praise Him that His ways are higher, greater, and truer than this world (Isaiah 55:8-9).
- Confess any areas in your life where your heart is divided. Confession brings freedom to the life of the believer. Uncover the junk drawer of your heart and ask the Lord to guide each step you take and to give you freedom from the tightrope and focus in your daily life.
- Give thanks to Him. A woman who follows Jesus with her whole heart overflows with praise. Gratitude should flavor your speech. Remember what Jesus has done for you on the cross and move forward praising Him with your whole heart.
Gretchen Saffles is passionate about encouraging and equipping women to get into the Word of God and find their identity and purpose in Christ. She is the founder of Life Lived Beautifully, author of A God-Sized Love Story, Proverbs 31: Women of Dignity, Washed in Grace, and Ruth: Gospel of Grace, as well as creator of the “Give Me Jesus” quiet time journal for women. Through Life Lived Beautifully, she longs to meet women right where they are with the hope of the gospel and light a match in their hearts to know Jesus more. On any given day you can find her with a coffee cup in hand, a baby on her hip, a message stirring in her soul, and a God-sized dream on her heart. Gretchen lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with her husband, Greg, and her son, Nolan. (Note from the editor: Gretchen was also a recent guest on the {MARKED} podcast.)
