In the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Harrison Ford plays Indiana, the adventure-prone professor of archaeology.

At one point he comes to the edge of a massive cliff and needs to cross the huge gorge in front of him. But there’s no bridge! It’s definitely too far to jump across. So he checks his map again. It confirms that a bridge is there—but he can’t see it! It makes you wonder, Has it been destroyed? Is the map wrong?

The scene is tense because time is running out and Indiana needs to get to the other side to save his friend.

He stands there sweating, wondering what to do. At this point he realizes he needs to take “a leap of faith.”

So he closes his eyes and takes a dramatic first step out into what looks like an abyss… and his foot comes down on something hard!! As he opens his eyes and starts to walk, the angle of the camera shifts, and we see that there was a bridge there all along. We just couldn’t see it because it was an optical illusion.

But only after he took that first leap of faith could he see the path ahead.

Hebrews 11:1 (NRSV) gives us a definition of faith. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

“…the conviction of things not seen.” Like a way ahead; like what life will be like on the other side of that tough decision; like tomorrow…

If you’re waiting for a perfectly clear sign from God, maybe you’re not living by faith. Maybe you’re not trusting God’s promises to be with you, to guide you, to provide for you, and to love you.

Just as Indiana Jones discovered, sometimes you need to take that first leap of faith before the path reveals itself.

By Matthew Ruttan

• “Up!” is published 5 days a week (Tuesday to Saturday) and returns on October 10th.
  Follow on Twitter here: @MatthewRuttan