Do you remember learning how to ride a bike?
I don’t know how it worked for you, but for me, it looked like this. My grandfather had a special stick that formed a “Y” at the end, and he’d put that on the back of my bike and used it to push and stabilize me as I began to struggle forward, finding balance and trying to ride on my own. We repeated our process many times and as I increased in my ability to keep up speed and balance, he’d begin the process of letting go…a little more each time. At first, he’d run right next to me, so I didn’t fall. Then he’d push and balance me for a bit, then let go and see how far I’d ride before noticing he wasn’t there.
I clearly remember the moments of being so wrapped up in my efforts that I didn’t notice he’d let go and wasn’t next to me anymore…then I DID notice and usually fell. Haha. Those were the moments that I stopped trusting. When he was next to me, I trusted him to not let me fall. When he wasn’t next to me, I feared falling.
Sometimes, our walk with God is like riding a bike, and this process can occur multiple times over the years, as we learn new things. It’s like each new thing we learn is a new bike we must learn to ride.
Recently, I was asking God why I didn’t feel Him the same right now. Even before the question fully left my mouth, I knew I was riding another bike. He said, “You’re learning to ride a bike. Now I want you to trust yourself.” Just then I saw myself riding a bike alone…except there was a wind all around me…you see, even when the Lord let’s go…He’s still very present. So, though I’m riding on my own, I am never truly alone. That’s part of the beauty of our heavenly Father.
Trusting myself has always been the hardest part. I am so desperate to remain faithful, pure, and in step with Holy Spirit, that I can struggle to make a decision. But when I refuse to trust the part of me that God trusts, it’s like those moments of realizing He’s not right there next to me holding up the bike and I fall.
There are moments in our walk with God when He wants to mature us. Are you open to maturity?
Allowing Him to grow us into different facets of maturity is crucial to us continually growing in Him and knowing Him better. Take these devotionals, for example. At first, when I thought of writing, I wondered how I could ever have enough wisdom or authority to do so. I wondered why anyone would want to listen to anything I had to say. But God made it clear, time after time, that this is exactly what He wanted me to do. There was no denying that I was made to write…even though I couldn’t always conceive of it.
Then I began writing. At first He would fall on me a certain way and I knew exactly what to say, but over the years, I’ve had to learn how to lean in a little more. Sometimes, He comes in that old way, but other times, He challenges me to pursue Him differently…and to trust Him more.
If things in our lives are always the same, then we will never grow new muscles.
I also quickly realized that He would walk me through a lot of different circumstances and trials during each year I wrote. But it’s because He trusts me. It’s also because He wants me to keep growing. So, each year He instructs me to write another round of devotionals, the “Yes” comes with a more sobering heart…as I buckle my seatbelt for the ride I’m about to go on.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus…than to trust and obey.
The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.” Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord. So, rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey Him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure! Psalm 32:8-11
365 Days in the Presence 