By now most of you know who Felix Baumgartner is. But of course, not everyone is interested in things related to space, skydiving, and record-breaking stunts. So for the benefit of those who don’t know, Felix Baumgartner is a 43-year old Austrian daredevil sky diver who set the world record for making the highest jump ever from approximately 39 kilometers high above the earth at a speed of 834 mph. Felix did the “space jump” from a helium balloon last Sunday, October 14, 2012.

He was part of a skydiving project called the Red Bull Stratos (yes, as in the Red Bull drink). Felix flew over New Mexico in the United States riding a helium balloon. Wearing a pressure suit, he jumped from 24 miles above, free falling, and then parachuting back to Earth within ten minutes. Wow! Ten minutes  of free falling must be crazy and terrifying! But then Mr. Baumgartner here (who reminds me of David Beckham) managed to finish the mission. He even broke the speed of sound without any vehicular assistance. I’m not gonna bore you with details as Wiki has everything but he broke a record previously set in 1960 by  USAF Colonel Joseph Kittinger.

The October 14 space jump was actually the third launch attempt. The first launch scheduled on October 9 was delayed because of the weather and eventually aborted and rescheduled for October 11 which was postponed again for some reason.

He’s no astronaut. He’s a skydiver who was brave enough to jump. He may appear to be brave but I’m sure like any ordinary human being, he’s a bit scared of what could go wrong. But he did, he jumped!

(Watch video from his point of view)

“Sometimes you have to go up really high
to understand how small you are.”
– Felix Baumgartner

This was Felix’s last statement before he made the historic jump. Felix jumped into the unknown. He jumped not knowing if he would succeed or would come back to earth. He was also quoted saying,

“Trust me, when you stand up there on top of the world,
you become so humble. It’s not about breaking records any more.
It’s not about getting scientific data. It’s all about coming home.”

Home could have meant “Earth” or it could have also meant “Heaven”.  I have no idea if Felix is a Christian or not but for me, his jump was a perfect illustration of the phrase “leap of faith”. Oftentimes, Christians need to be reminded what having faith means and that it should be exercised. Watching the Baumgartner’s jump gave me goosebumps and all but it caused me to praise and thank God for his courage and for the beauty of His creation.

Felix Baumgartne’s jump has taught me to be courageous and to have more confidence in myself, and have more faith in my God. More COURAGE to do things God is telling me to do. More CONFIDENCE that I can accomplish my mission for the Lord is my confidence. And more FAITH in God because He is One who never changes and never fails.

Oftentimes, we may doubt people and ourselves but you know God, He is still the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.

Courage. Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NIV)

Confidence.  For the Lord will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. Proverbs 3:26 (NASB)

Faith.  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. HebreWs 11:1 (NIV 1984)

 I don’t dream to be an astronaut but sometimes I wish Noah would be one. That seems impossible but I hope, at least, I be like Felix by being brave.

I have so many fears: fears of what could go wrong, the future, and a few people I know. However, I know God will help me overcome. He has given me a spirit of power, not timidity, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).

I have fears. You have your fears but like Felix Baumgartner, we need to face and conquer them. That is, with the help of God. His Grace is sufficient for you and me to say, “Yes, I can do a Felix jump“.

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I had no idea about Felix before but his good looks skydiving stunts got me interested. Even Philip deFranco agrees that he is good looking.  Hehehe.

Felix Baumgartner’s Facebook Page:  www.facebook.com/FelixBaumgartner