José Pelegrini was an Argentinean mountain climber who yearned to conquer the Aconcagua Mountain, located near the Chilean border with his country. The Aconcagua Mountain is the highest mountain in the entire Andes, and indeed the highest mountain in the Western hemisphere. José initiated his climb only after years of preparation. He decided that he would climb this mountain all by himself, for he wanted all of the associated glory for himself.
José knew better, but against all advice he ascended alone. He started climbing but soon noticed that it was getting later . . . and later. José had not made preparations for camping, but he decided to keep on climbing higher and higher.
Then it got dark . . . night fell with a great heaviness at such a very high altitude. Visibility was zero. Everything was black. There was no moon, and the stars were hidden behind the clouds. José had no sense of direction; he was alone and cut off completely.
Then as José was climbing a ridge about 100 meters from the top of the peak, he slipped and fell. Hurtling rapidly downward José could only see blotches of darkness that passed him by. He felt a terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity.
José kept falling . . . and in those anguishing moments good and bad memories passed through his mind. He thought certainly he would die. But then he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. Like any good mountain climber, José had safely staked himself with a long rope tied around his waist.
In those moments of stillness, suspended in the air without light, he had no other choice but to shout,
"HELP ME, GOD! HELP ME!"
All of a sudden he heard a deep voice from heaven, "What do you want me to do?"
"SAVE ME!" He replied.
God answered, "Do you really think that I can save you?"
"OF COURSE, MY GOD, you can do anything!"
Then José heard a voice saying, "Then cut the rope that is holding you up."
There was another moment of silence and stillness. The man just held tighter to the rope.
The next morning, the rescue team said that they found a frozen José hanging tighly to a rope two feet off the ground.
God told Abraham to leave his home and go just go; He would show him where to. Abraham trusted God and went. Then God made a great nation out of his offspring, the nation of Israel.
God allowed Satan to tempt Job in every way; he took away his family, his property and his possessions. Nevertheless Job trusted God. And, as a result, Job had all his belongings back and more. There was restitution of his family as well all because Job trusted God.
So, do you trust God enough to "cut your rope?" If you do, in the end you will be blessed.
