When life is hard and you just want to coast, remember this, it’s worth the pain to find out who you are and more importantly, to figure out who God is. Maybe there’s another way to learn the heart of God, but desperation is what draws me closer to the Lord. If you’re tired of an uphill climb, don’t quit pedaling, instead look up and see the incredible view from the top.
Worth the climb
My quads quivered as I pushed down the pedal. When I glanced back at my riding companion, her feet were firmly planted on solid ground. Unclipping my shoes, I straddled my bicycle, “Are you okay?” Her helmet moved back and forth with her nod and she gasped for breath; part oxygen hunger, part sob. “We don’t have to do this, we can call someone to pick us up.” She sucked in a ragged breath, “No, I can do it.” Resolve replaced defeat and we continued the 1,000 foot climb to the summit. My hands ached from gripping the handlebars, my back and hips complained for a week and my temples throbbed from dehydration, but the view from the top was worth it.
Proverbs 14:23, “Hard work always pays off; mere talk puts not bread on the table.” MSG
Stretch marks on my faith
There are stretch marks on my faith from this season of life. I’m way past my limits. The ebb and flow of my circumstances got off rhythm and I’m long overdue for some flow. Though my health is improved, I still count off my life in 3 week increments and spend 121 hours a year on the wrong side of the sheets. Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly blessed and grateful, but some days I’d like to coast. However, coasting isn’t necessarily safe either.
Downhill coast
Even if it’s just for a minute or two, the endorphin dump of coasting wss a high like no other. After all the hard work to pedal the incline I tucked and flew effortlessly downhill. But lately my my trials seem successive and relentless, a never-ending uphill climb. Can’t I safely coast just for a moment?
I want to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, even if it means the fellowship of His suffering Click To TweetOnce coasting nearly got me killed. After a steep climb up the mountain, I turned the corner and coasted. As an inexperienced rider, I failed to calculate the sharp turn and swerved into the other lane just as a car rounded the hairpin. Squeezing the hand brakes, I slowed enough to correct but it was a near miss. Coasting is exhilarating, but dangerous too.
Surely I’m not alone. We want a ticket to heaven and a comfy life of God’s favor until we get there, but desperation drives me to my face before the Lord. So the answer is embracing the challenge and depending on the Lord’s strength.
2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all.” NIV
Conquering the mountain takes hard work. So for now, I’ll embrace the struggles and keep climbing the mountain until I reach the summit. My season of loss can’t last forever, neither can yours unless you quit. I hope you’ll join me in fixing your eyes on Jesus and lean in to your trials as a way to draw closer to His heart. Unclip and catch your breath if you need to, then determine you can keep going because the view at the top is worth it.
I Peter 1:6, “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.” NLT
“The view at the top is worth it.” – That’s everything I needed to hear today.
Me too. Funny how I write it then don’t follow my own advice. Going to keep pedaling!
When I’m going through seasons of difficulty I find myself speaking out the words “this to shall pass.” They remind me that it is only for a moment in time, and it encourages me that better times are ahead.
Yeah I keep thinking that but today my freezer went out…. Not coasting yet, but what goes up must come down, right?
Thankful for friends to share the burdens with— then it’s a tandem bike. 🙂
I absolutely love that! When one is tired, the other takes over
It reminds me of the old song that said “It Will Be Worth It all when we see Jesus. Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Him. One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrows will erase, It will be worth it all, when we see Christ.”
Somedays cause me to question and wonder if I can keep going on, but by the strength of God, I can and will!!!!
yes we can and we will!