SCRIPTURE: Philippians
4:6 (TM)
Don't fret or
worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries
into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
STORY as shared by James S. Hewett:
At first I saw
God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to
know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like
the president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn’t really know
Him. But later on when I recognized this Higher Power, It seemed as though life
was rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that God
was in the back helping me pedal. I don’t know just when it was that he
suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since—life with my
Higher Power, that is. God makes life exciting! But when He took the lead, it
was all I could do to hang on! He knew delightful paths, up mountains and
through rocky places—and at breakneck speeds. Even though it looked like
madness, he said, “Pedal!” I worried and was anxious and asked, “Where are you
taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn trust. I
forgot my boring life and entered into adventure. When I’d say, “I’m scared,”
He’d lean back and touch my hand. He took me to people with gifts that I
needed, gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. They gave me their gifts to take
on my journey, our journey, God’s and mine. And we were off again. He said,
“Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage, too much weight.” So I did, to the
people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and our burden became
light. At first I did not trust Him in control of my life. I thought He’d wreck
it. But He knows bike secrets—knows how to make it lean to take sharp corners,
dodge large rocks, and speed through scary passages. And I am learning to shut
up and pedal in the strangest places. I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the
cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant Companion. And when I’m sure
I just can’t do any more, He just smiles and says, “Pedal!”
OBSERVATION:
Praying, pedaling … they are both the same idea. The bottom
line in both the scripture and the story is we need to stop worrying about the
ride through life and simply enjoy the ride.
Ever kept a worry journal … where you write down what
consumes your time and energy by worrying? The answer probably is, “No,” as it
should be, but we keep a mental list of the things we worry about don’t we. We
can click off our top 10 items on that worry list with no problem. What we are
not aware of is the amount of time we spend worrying about things. If we kept a
time chart of our worry time we probably would be amazed as to how much time we
consume worry about different things. All the way God keeps telling us to pedal
… don’t miss the scenery … trust the one who is steering the “bike” … pray with
a confident heart.
Our worries are the rocks in the road, the sharp corners,
dangerous passages … but God knows how to steer our “bikes” … our life.
We let God know of our concerns and he simply throws back
his head with laughter and says, pedal! God’s answer to death was resurrection.
Can his answer for our situation be any better than that?
Pedal and enjoy the ride! We share, “But God I’m pedaling as
fast as I can.” “Well,” God responds, “you could allow me to do some of the
pedaling after all I am steering the ‘bike’. I am in the lead seat.” And then
he starts to laugh. Boy, does he enjoy the ride … why shouldn’t we?
PRAYER:
God, keep encouraging us to pedal and to enjoy the ride. We
kind of get lost in the mountain of worry we carry around that we fail to trust
you with the rocks in the road. Sorry! Don’t give up on us. We will eventually
get it.
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