As I've stated in the past, I love it when God teaches me through an object lesson, and last night He did just that. My son, my friend and I all went riding on some mountain bike trails yesterday. And as much fun as it was and as much as it felt great to get out there enjoying nature and all of God's creations, it also was a lot of hard work. The hills were tough to climb and some of the trail was a bit dangerous. But the down hills and the jumps were still a lot of fun. And as I laid in bed last night recapping the day in my mind, I could see that God was trying to show me something about that day and life.
Even though you go through something like this and in the end you sum it all up as a good time, in the moment you realize this is a lot of work. Each hill we climbed was so tough on the legs and all you wanted was to be at the top. And each downhill seemed effortless (except the steering and braking) and you wished the whole trail could be just like this. And what God was showing me is this is how we look at life sometimes too. Especially when we come up on the "hills of life"...and they are hard. But why are they so hard? On the bike they are so hard because I am everything. I am the motor, I am the one steering and I am the one trying to find the easiest path up the hill. It is all on me, and that is what makes it so difficult. Take the same hill and put me on a motorcycle and the results would be completely different. And every time we come up on the hills of life, the difficult times, and we try to do it all on our own it is going to be way more difficult than it has to be. Hard times are going to happen. We live in and imperfect world and we are imperfect people. That combination means hard times are sure to come at us. But if we face those 100% on our own, doing everything in our strength using only our abilities, our wisdom, our energy and our imperfect way of thinking...then at the end of the day we will be exhausted. Every time we got to the top of the hill on the trail we were worn out. It took everything out of us to get through that section just like it takes everything out of us to get through a hard day when we do it on our own. But had I had a motorcycle instead of a bicycle, getting to the top of the hill would have felt completely different. The assistance of the motor would have made a world of difference. No it would not have taken me completely out of the picture. I still would have had a lot to do with getting to the top, but it would not have all been done in my own strength. God also doesn't want you facing the hardships of life all in your own strength. He wants to assist you in every decision you make, if you let Him. Philippians 4:13 says He is our strength. Deuteronomy 31:6 says He goes with you and will not leave you or forsake you. Isaiah 41:10 says He will uphold you with His righteous hand. And 1 Corinthians 10:13 says He will help us when we are tempted. And these are just a few of the scriptures that promise us that God will be there for us when we rely on Him. He is faithful and He desires us to seek His help, wait on His leading and follow Him through the hardest of times. Not only will He get you through the tough times, but He will make the peaceful times of life even more peaceful.
When we would get to the top of the hill we would know that a downhill path was coming soon. And because we would be so out of breath we would use that time to catch our breath. But God doesn't want you to use the peaceful times of life to "catch your breath" just so you can prepare for the next challenge....He wants you to find rest in Him. And when we can rely on Him and trust Him during the hard time, the rest and the peace we find in Him when the in the quiet times are so much better.
If you feel like you have been peddling uphill for far to long and life just doesn't seem to ease up and you're constantly exhausted, then maybe the best thing you can do is surrender to Him in a way that you never have. Trusting Him for that guidance, wisdom, strength and peace. It's when we stop taking control of every situation that we actually give Him the ability to help us. Sure you will still have to do your part, but when you're not the one doing it all you will see the difference.
God, Thank You for the lessons in life that You teach us from simple everyday things. May our eyes always be open to allow You to show us new things. Help us to see the things in life that You need us to surrender control to You on, so we can find out how much of a difference it makes to really trust you. It is my prayer that we will honor you with our surrender and let you shine even brighter in our lives so others can see the difference that only You can make. In Jesus name, Amen
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