Much like on the roads I ride on, the road of life can lull you into a sense of being a passive participant. What do I mean by that?
Sometimes that road can distract you. Things on the side of the road can grab your attention away from where you are headed. Even your thoughts can carry you away from anywhere but the “here and now.” Any amount of significant distraction on a motorcycle can have disastrous results.
We may miss a troubled section of road, that could cause us to slip, low-side (fall), or worse. The same can happen in our lives, and especially in our walk with the Lord. Typically our closest walk with Him is in times when we feel like we need Him the most. Usually these are times of trouble in our lives: health issues, family problems, job stress, loss, and life’s other major potholes. These challenges tend to have us reaching out for His hand. When we get to these intersections of life, it is THEN that we call out to Him, asking which way to go.
We don’t have to make these choices alone. Unfortunately that is our tendency many times. Because we often don’t look to Him for all things, especially when times are good, it stands to reason that over time we look to Him less and less. It takes practice to place our focus and our lives truly in His hands.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5
I find that when my mind has wandered on my motorcycle is when I’ve had the closest calls to making a mistake. Much the same can be said of when our focus departs from a Jesus-centered existence. It is when we are most likely to make a potential blunder. We have to have Him “along for the ride”, or we run the risk of finding ourselves hurting ourselves, others, and worst of all, Jesus. I can literally feel when I’ve walked with Him less, as my overall sense of spiritual wellness dwindles with it. I allow fear, anger, resentment, and other negativity to begin to overtake me. It is then when Jesus reaches in and helps me catch myself. It’s almost like a sense of falling in your sleep… where you wake up relieved that you weren’t really plummeting to your death after all. I come to my senses, realize that I’m okay, and that I need to center my mind around the way that Jesus calls me to be. He brings me back again, and patiently waits for me to re-prioritize. He gives me the energy to start again, with the strength to persevere.
May you be “re-fueled” with Jesus this day. I pray that Jesus may come into your life, and help you through the twists and turns, all the while keeping you on track towards a greater relationship with Him. Amen.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. — Proverbs 3:6
