Cut The Ropes Now

God has been teaching me powerfully in my heart something that I am going to title, “Cut the Rope.” It is time for many of us to cut the rope as I had learned while I was in the hospital for back surgery—not being overwhelmed with certain situations or circumstances that I was facing.

While I was watching the television, a woman, in prime condition was sharing what happened to her right before the Olympics. She had been riding her bike and for a second had stood up on her bike to get a better view of everything but the next thing she knew, she woke up in the hospital, paralyzed. She had no idea that a truck had struck her and suddenly, her whole career was over. Here she was feeling overwhelmed and began to share her story. As I watched and listened, I began to identify with her. She talked about what she went through and how she eventually was able to go home. The therapist said, “You’re going to have a real tough time with depression.” She did, but then one day while sitting in her wheelchair, she looked up and saw a plane flying overhead which excited her. Then she decided, “That’s what I want to do with my life. I want to be a pilot.” Her mom, dad and everyone laughed at her, but she made an appointment for flying lessons anyway. When she showed up for her lessons with a cast on and couldn’t use her feet, everyone made fun of her, except for one person who was behind the counter. He said, “If you want to learn, I’ll teach you how to fly.” So she hopped over to the plane and got in. The trainer said to her, “But in order to fly, you have to use your feet.” She started laughing and said, “I can't move my feet.” He said, “Well, how are you going to be a pilot?” And she said, “Don’t worry about that. Let’s just go.”

When they were up in the air, she took over the controls and he instructed her to head towards the mountain. As she was heading towards the mountain, she flew over the exact place where her accident occurred and started to cry. When she landed, she knew in her heart what God wanted her to do. And a fire began to burn inside. She wanted to be a pilot but she had a broken body; but she was still determined.

And so with time, she began to try and walk, going from chair to chair, from wall to wall until she began to walk. Eventually she was able to walk down the street by herself, so she gradually started taking more flying lessons and then passed her basic exam and then her twin-engine test. She even got so good that she began to fly upside down and passed that pilot’s test. Eventually, she became an instructor, and then a commercial pilot. As I listened to the end of her interview, she made this comment that changed everything in my heart. She said, “I’ve got a broken body, but I don’t have a broken spirit.” At that point, I realized that I had a broken spirit.

That statement absolutely devastated my life because I’m the kind of guy who helped build the church, the chandeliers and did a lot of the framing. My whole life has been centered on building homes and churches and traveling and doing all these type of things. I can do it; I am physically strong. I don’t need help. I can carry my own bags and I can do this and I can do that. But now I can’t do it. I can’t even put my socks on. When I heard this woman on the television say, “I have a broken body,” I was now able to identify with that. And so, I felt like a cripple—handicapped.

When I went to the mountain retreat recently, The Lord spoke to me, “Stephen, you have to cut the rope. You have to cut this attitude that your body is not broken, because it’s your spirit that is critical right now. Although your body is broken, it doesn’t mean you have to have a broken spirit.” When this attitude takes over, I can become very angry. I don’t want to be angry, but I have a prideful attitude that says, “I can do it. I don’t need anyone’s help.” But I can’t do it and so I get really flustered and people find that hard to understand. I realize then that I don’t have a sweet spirit. And so finally I said, “Okay, God, this is what You want, so I will cut the rope. I have a broken body and I want to have a sweet spirit.” I can’t do what I used to and want to do. I can take a walk with my wife, but it has to be on flat ground. I used to be able to climb mountains, but I can’t do it anymore. I used to be able to put the chains on the car, but I can’t anymore. I have to let people help me. I know in my heart that if I had a broken body but a great heart and a great spirit, people would listen to me because it’s not my body—it’s my spirit inside me that is ministering to their hearts. So many people are devastated because they look at their marriage, their relationships or at a particular thing that is happening in their lives and they think, “I’ve lost hope.” We should never lose hope.