The End of the Rope

We have often heard someone say, "I'm at the end of my rope", implying that he is about to fall from a high place or slip into the darkness and drown. Life gives us many reasons to believe that we are grasping precariously to a rope. A rope that will ultimately either slip from our hands or pull us to safety. Imagine if you will an old rope tied to the limb of a tree; the tree is on a high place on the shore; it hangs above a "swimming hole"; a place in a stream or creek where the water is deep and wide enough to allow a person to stand on the shore, grasp the rope, swing out over the water and at his disgression release his grasp and plummet to the water below. It is quite often peer pressure that causes you to grab the rope and swing out over the water. Having observed your friends running, grabbing the rope, swinging out over the water, yelling "Geronimo" (the accepted term to use when jumping off or out of something), and releasing the rope just at the right part of the arc to propel them out, over the water, then plummeting down to a splash into the swimming hole. The first time that you attempt this feat there is a bit of trepidation and sometimes your grasp of the rope won't release, "Geronimo" can't be uttered and you must struggle to regain your perch on the solid ground above the hole. This aborted attempt immediately evokes cries from peers of "Chicken" or "Are you scared". Your response can be a little bravado, "Naw, I slipped!" or "I need a better hold!". Or your response could be grabbing your clothes and running home. The latter in most circles would be totally unacceptable as the relentless razzing from peers would be unbearable. So you grab the rope again, swing out, yell "Geronimo", and drop to the water below. This is usually followed by shouts of elation and raucous laughter. The shouts and laughter are more a release of tension as the feat is accomplished and without ill effects than true joy. As the day goes by the rope gets slippery from the water. It is the time when you swing out with the slippery rope to the highest arc, high above the hole that you may be at the end of the rope...
That slippery rope may not always be associated with the ol' swimming hole. It may be a euphemism for our life. We may not have a solid grasp as we climb, we may find the rope too slippery to hold. At the precipice we may begin to
lose our grip and find ourselves slipping to the end of our rope. "I'm at the end of my rope!" has little to do with ropes and the implications are huge. It is at this juncture that we search desperately for a knot to stop the slide. God can supply that "knot"! You may be the "lost sheep" or may need to renew your faith. You simply must trust in God and remember that He has a way! When you are at the end of your rope, pray relentless. If you are lost, He will find you! When everyone has turned their back on you, He is there! His grace is truly amazing and He will save a "wretch" like you! Paul in his letter to the Romans says "I have become absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither messenger of Heaven nor monarch of earth, neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow, neither a power from on high nor a power from below, nor anything else in God's whole world has any power to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! "(Romans 8:38)
Let God be your "knot" at the end of your rope!!