{Above Photo} Is from Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade.  The treasure map Dr. Jones was reading from in order to overcome the bridge of faith.

Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Do we have to faith to believe in the things unseen, do we have assurance of things hoped for?  Let’s read together and see where we stand.

The home team crowd were on their feet, cheering with excitement as Jim broke into the open field. Every eye was on Jim, except for Lauren. She was focused on the still, face down body of Schuyler, lying lifeless on the ground where he had made contact with the linebacker.

“Get up, get up, get up.” She was whispering. Her breathing intensified, panting in a rising panic. Working her mind and body into a frenzy until she  began to feel light-headed, dizzy as she focused on her boyfriend lying still on the turf.

Someone was motioning to the sidelines and Coach ran onto the field. He knelt beside Schuyler. The crowd noticed what was happening and the cheering shifted to quiet expressions of concern. The two teams dropped to a knee as the Coach called for the ambulance.

As the paramedics brought the gurney onto the field, Lauren had begun to quiver. Emma shifted her attention from what was happening on the field to her friend. She put her arm around her and felt her shaking.

“He’s going to be okay,” Emma said with concern in her voice.

“Get up, get up, get up.”

“Lauren,” Emma said with a little more energy, “He’s going to be alright.”

“How do you know?” Lauren responded with a voice filled with fear.

Emma felt Lauren body begin to buckle. She gently guided her friend back to her seat. “Lauren let’s pray.”

Lauren didn’t register Emma’s invitation. Her intense focus on what was happening on the field with Schuyler put everything else around her into a deep, blurry background. Nothing existed for her, not the crowd, not the stands, not Emma. Only her fear.

“Lauren, we need to pray!” Emma said with greater intensity as she gave Lauren a firm shake.

Lauren turned to Emma, looking into her eyes with a dazed incomprehension.

“We need to pray.” Emma repeated with gentleness.

Lauren slowly nodded and Emma began to pray.
As they were praying, their phones pinged. Ben, on the other side of grand stands, looked at the text as did the guys who were with him. It was from Henry,

“Meet me at the east gate as soon as you can.”

“Let’s go.”

The guys gathered up their stuff and started heading down the stairs.

“You think he’s dead?”

“Shut up, Pete. Don’t be stupid.” Nick replied with more energy than he intended. The whole group had a sinking feeling.

A large group was gathering as Ben and the others approached. Henry was in the center looking over the heads of the kids, making sure all were there before the group started to pray. As he looked up, he noticed Emma leading Lauren with her arm around her waist. Poor kid, he thought.

“Okay, listen up.”

The crowd quieted down.

“I just checked in with the trainer. Schuyler is conscious. Probably with a concussion. But their real concern is for his neck, his spine. They’ve got him in a neck brace and are taking him to the hospital. His mom is in the ambulance with him and his dad is driving over to meet them there.”

“Is there anything we can do?” someone asked.

“Really all we can is the most important thing to do. We can pray. Lauren, come here, girl.”

Emma led Lauren to stand beside Henry.

“Let’s gather around and lay hands on Lauren.”

The group tightened the circle. Those within reach placed a hand on Lauren’s shoulder. Other lifted a hand toward her.

“In Philippians 4 Paul says,

…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.  [Phil. 4:6-7]

“We need to pray for Schuler and has family. Let’s lift up Lauren, too. Ben, will you lead out?” Ben nodded.  “The rest of you pray as the Lord leads. I’ll close when the time is right.”

As the group prayed, the tension in Lauren’s body began to recede. Her emotion shifted from terror to trust. She was still worried, but a new reality began to take told. She started to believe.