- What does the word trust mean? (Answers may include: to rely on someone or something; to put your confidence or trust in something; to have faith, etc.)
- Who do you trust? Why? (Some possible answers: my parents because they love me; my teachers because they always want the best for me; God because He knows everything, etc.)
- What/who do you struggle to trust in? (Answers will vary. Students may say they don’t trust the neighbor’s dog because it growls when I walk by, so I won’t pet him; I struggle trusting in God because I can’t see Him; I don’t like airplanes because I don’t trust they’ll get me somewhere safely, etc.)
Sometimes trusting and putting our confidence in someone or something requires courage. It takes guts to rely on someone else when we’re not sure of the outcome. Felix Baumgartner is an example of this type of courage and total reliance on something other than himself. Several years ago, he attempted to break the world record for the highest altitude jump…from space. That’s right, Baumgartner traveled in a hot air balloon right outside of Earth’s atmosphere and—trusting totally in his equipment, his measurements, projections, and a team of people—he jumped 24 miles. The specially made suit he trusted in—the one that kept his blood from boiling and his lungs from exploding during his 725 mph free fall—did everything it was supposed to do, and the parachute he trusted in opened and he landed safely. Let’s watch this astonishing stunt.
Play the following link [4:24]:
Red Bull Stratos-World Record Freefall-
- Do you think Baumgartner is courageous or just plain crazy? Why? (Answers might include: I think it’s very brave to try to break world records, no one’s ever done it before and it
can inspire others to go after their dreams; he’s crazy, no one should risk their life just to break a world record, etc.)
- Do you think he was right to believe in all those people and the things he trusted? Why or why not? (Answers may vary about the years of thought and study that went into this feat or the fact that any one of those components could have failed at any time.)
- What is something you need courage to do right now? (Answers will vary but may center around standing up to a bully at school or trying out for a team or choir even though it isn’t something they’ve ever done before.)
Trusting takes courage, especially if we’re being asked to step outside our comfort zones to try something new. Most of us don’t like going beyond what we can see for ourselves. Not knowing how something is going to turn out can be scary! Those unknown outcomes require lots of courage and faith.
Today we’re going to talk about someone named Joshua. God asked him to put his trust in God even though it was definitely pushing the limits of normal. Let’s find out what happened.
Additional resources:
Definition of trust
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trust#synonyms
Supersonic skydiver breaks three world records during his descent from balloon 24 miles above the Earth’s surface
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/oct/14/felix-baumgartner-lands-safely-record
