KEEP PEDALING
Kathy Bernard -
Publisher
"Be strong and
courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever
you go.” - Joshua 1:9
I used to think
of God as my observer and my judge Who kept track of everything I
did wrong and it was written in the Book of Life.
Only He knew if I would merit heaven or hell. I really didn't know
Him well until I met His Son, Jesus Christ. Later on it seemed as
though life was rather like my tandem bike with two sets of pedals,
with me in front pedaling and Jesus pedaling behind.
I
don't know just when it was that He gently suggested we trade
places, with me giving Him the lead. At first I was
skeptical as I wanted to do things my own way. But since the day I changed places with Him,
my life has not been the
same. When I had control and thought I knew the way, I noticed that the roads
I took seemed
filled with dead ends and no matter where I turned, the road
remained full of thickets and sharp branches that I could not easily pass
through.
HE took the lead from me
and showed me delightful long cuts, up mountains
and through rocky places at breakneck speeds. It was all I could do
to hang on! Part of me was frightened and yet my faith in Him
slowly grew even though what He did looked like madness. And yes, many
frightening times I did cover my eyes in fear. I could hear
Him turn to look back at me, and He said
ever so quietly, "Keep pedaling!"
I was worried and anxious and I asked, "Where are you taking me?"
My Lord smiled and didn't answer, and for some reason, my trust in
Him still continued to build. There was something about His manner of
assurance that touched me. And when I said, "I'm scared," He leaned
back and smiled.
He took me to
people who gave me gifts that He said I should have; gifts of healing, gifts
of hope, acceptance, and joy. These people also gave me other gifts to take on
our journey. And so, we were off again on an
endless ride but this time it seemed we were headed toward some very special place.
He said
to me, "Give the gifts away; they're extra baggage, too much
weight." So I gave them all away to the people we met as we bicycled,
and I found that in giving I received, and our
burden
became light. I knew He was quietly controlling my life. He
took me to localities I had never seen before. He pedaled faster
and faster and I tried to keep up as I held on tighter. I
thought He would wreck my bike with all his fast maneuvers, but He
knew that bicycle well. He knew how to make it bend to take sharp
corners, knew how to jump over high rocks, and how to make it fly to
shorten scary passages. I learned to pedal behind Him to the
strangest places with excitement. For some reason I felt safe in
His hands and I was beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze
on my face with my delightful and constant companion, Jesus Christ,
Who continued to carry me through many unusually beautiful areas.
Just when I was positive I could not continue and could not follow
any further, He nodded, squeezed my hand and said softly, "I am with
you always. (Matthew 28:20) Don't be afraid. Just keep on pedaling."
This is how it
is when we are on the journey to our eternal home.
Halfway
down the road some of us may grow discouraged, uncertain, plagued
with fear and worries. Sometimes an insurmountable curve in the
road is not always easy to overcome and the summit we want to reach grows
dim. We tremble at the
twists and the turns that the world gives us. We get frightened and
disheartened along those dark paths when things do not turn out the
way we had hoped they would.
I
have learned that I cannot fix the problems life thrusts at me by
myself, and this is when I have to lean on the handlebars of
suffering and let Jesus take the lead. I must totally relinquish my
hold on my burdens and let Him pedal through
my pain. With compassion and love
He will take the handlebars and the pedals of life, asking only that I
follow Him. He will take me through the ups and downs of this
world and through the good and the bad times that come to us all.
No road will be too crooked or too filled with
obstacles for Him to pass through and I sit in awe when He makes a
way out of no way that I can see or understand. I know I can count on Him for He told me, "Never will I leave
you; never will I forsake you!" - Hebrews 13:5
And so many
times we grow weak and just want to give up,
but we, who have faith, belief, and trust in the Lord will see His gentle smile,
His unending mercy, and the love in His eyes
as He kindly
whispers, "Keep pedaling!"
"Come to me, all who are heavy laden and I will give you
rest."
Matthew 11:2
The idea for
this article came from an unknown hand
and it clearly expresses what Christ will do for us
all. I took the liberty of rewriting it and adding
my own thoughts and biblical passages.
Kathy Bernard- Publisher
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