Andy Stumpf is Just Nuts!

Last week I watched podcaster Joe Rogan’s interview with Navy Seal Andy Stumpf. Stumpf discusses (in frightening detail) what it’s like to climb nearly impossible rock formations like El Capitan, Half Dome, the Bastille Crack, etc. (My question is – what kind of crazy do you have to be when being a Navy Seal just isn’t adventurous enough that you, as a hobby, go climb in places that have killed people?)

He described the safety equipment they use to assist and protect them – essentially loops of nylon attached to steel contraptions that jam into cracks in the rock face. They attach their safety ropes to these loops in the hope that if (when?) they fall, it’s only as far as the next anchor and not the 500 feet to the ground. Hopefully. They put an extreme amount of trust in the placement and reliability of the anchor.

It’s obvious that an anchor is only as good as the rock into which it’s placed. Jamming a $1000 piece of safety equipment into loose rock kills you just as easily as having no anchor at all. It might be worse because you take risks, climbing higher, trusting a $1000 anchor in loose rock to save you. Might as well be dental floss for all the good it will do.

Jesus told a story about two men who built houses - one on sand, the other on rock (Matthew 7). The one who depended on loose sand to hold his house up met disaster when the inevitable storms came. But the guy who built his house on rock stayed safe, cozy. Jesus goes on to say that his words are the rock. His wisdom, his teachings, are the rock on which we can build a life. Why? Because He is the rock behind the teaching. His words can be trusted because He is solid, never wavering, always faithful.

Trust is only as solid as the object in which that trust is placed. If we embed our trust in stuff that ultimately fails when we need it most, we’ve wasted a lot of time, resources, and energy. Money, pleasure, career, relationships, respect, education, fulfilling work, good health, etc. are all good things, even godly things – in their place. But they are terrible things to bolt our lives into. They are loose gravel, easily pulled out by the weight of the inevitable trials. But when we bolt our lives to Jesus, he never moves. He can’t. It’s in his nature to hold.

Psalms 62:5-8 - Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.