Elevators

    Have you ever noticed that children tend to love elevators, but adults hate them? At malls and hotels (or wherever else elevators can be found), kids drag their reluctant parents to the elevators. For them, there is bliss in pushing the elevator's buttons. They find a thrill in riding elevators from floor to floor; it's comparable to an amusement park ride. While they giggle and cheer with delight at the ride, their parents cling nervously to the rail and anxiously await the arrival to their desired floor.
    Children have a precious innocence and naivete that protects them from many of the irrational fears adults have. Sometime around adolescence, people start to become aware of things they couldn't see as children. They become afraid of the cables snapping and plummeting to their death, they become claustrophobic, or afraid of getting trapped.
    Sometimes I wonder if I will ever find someone who shares my unrest regarding elevators. If the walls are glass, and I can see out of the elevator, I am fine; but if the walls are solid, I refuse to step in. Most people are afraid of looking out of the elevator and seeing how high up they are, but I have to know how high up I am. Generally speaking, I am not claustrophobic or afraid of being trapped, but if I think the elevator is taking too long to open the doors I begin to panic. If the elevator feels like it isn't moving and the doors aren't opening, thoughts enter my mind saying perhaps I will never reach the next floor. When I can look out of the elevator, I feel peaceful because I know where I am. At times, I feel like the elevator has stopped moving when it still is, and vice versa, so I feel comfortable watching the outside as the elevator moves.
    When I happen to be in an elevator without windows, I have to focus on the number on the wall that tells me what floor I am at. I hold my breath the whole time I'm in the elevator, sighing a sigh of relief when I see the number matching the floor I need off at. In the meantime, I just have to believe that the elevator will take me where I need to go safely.
    In a way, God's plan for our lives is similar to elevators. How many times do you question God about your future? How many times do you worry if you will make it to the next stage in life? How many times do you have to look back and see how far you've come, and become anxious about how much you have ahead of you? When you finally decide to listen to Him, you will hear a whisper that says to be calm and know He is in control. As God says in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
    Many of the fears people have of elevators are similar to their worries regarding God's plan for them. We worry about God letting us down, we fear falling back to where we started (or a worse position), and we dread becoming stuck in the same stage of life. Or perhaps you are like me and fear not knowing where you are at, or whether or not you will reach the place God wants you to reach.
    Always remember Jeremiah 29:11 and rest assured that God will not let you down. He knows what He has in store for you, and it's not necessarily always for you to know (and it may not always be what you want to hear). Someday, the elevator doors will open and you will see that you had no reason to be anxious because He knew all along that you would reach this place, and you are where He wants you to be.