Wondering When This Roller Coaster Will End?

The Tail of the Dragon is one of those highways that motorcycle enthusiasts love to ride. This highway is in North Carolina and it has 318 curves in 11 miles.  You can read all about it on the internet, but I can tell you it’s true because I’ve experienced it on the back of a Goldwing!  Before we traveled east with friends, my daughters said I couldn’t do that road, so of course I had to! I sent them both postcards from the store at the end of the run.

I’d like to tell you it was awesome, but from my viewpoint, it was harrowing! You literally meet yourself coming and going. It’s up an incline turn back on a hairpin curve and back again over and over and over.  There’s also regular traffic coming and going. You meet vehicles on your side of the road because the curves are so narrow. You’ll probably also see sites where bikers didn’t make a curve. I kept my eyes closed most of the time and hugged as close as possible to my husband as he traversed the snaky miles with delight.  I prefer smooth roads with sweeping turns occasionally.  Not my hubby, he likes the curves. I can tell you that after riding a motorcycle with him for 41 years (dating on motorcycles included) I have never ridden with anyone else on a motorcycle and I trust him completely. He’s never let me down.  There have been times I’ve not handled the ride well at all, but he still keeps inviting me to ride with him.  He has proved himself as trustworthy and I know I’m safe with him always. He takes good care of me on the ride, whether it’s easy roads or hard.  I wouldn’t always choose the roads he chooses, but I trust him so I go with him.

For the most part life can be pretty calm. We travel through the ins and outs and make pretty good time. We look ahead and the view is lovely and there are hardly any curves at all. Other times we are given a harder road to travel. Twisties and mountains intertwine and without some relief, we are ready to quit. We try our best to close our eyes in the hard times but it doesn’t help.  We can’t see that the road will smooth out ahead because we’re in the middle of the hard part, so that’s all we can concentrate on.

Are you in a hard place of life right now? Are you wondering when this roller coaster is going to end? You went to bed tired and needy and you woke up with no relief in sight. Weariness has settled in and you just don’t think you can keep going. You wish you could go back to the easy days of carefree living and calm roads. Now you’re stuck – it’s harrowing and you see no end.

Oh beloved, quit looking at the curves and the mountains and the terrain! Don’t stare at the drop offs and the cliffs! Look rather at the One who is carrying you through it all. God is with you! He is not only allowing you to go through the hard roads, He is the One who is seeing you through to the other side! It’s only a short ride, but you’ve grown tired. Lean on Him! He’s trustworthy and true – He will prove Himself capable again and again. Trust Him! He loves you. Seek His face only! He’s for you.  You may never get to the end of the ride and say that was great, but you will say You got me through!

God is with you, even when you seem to be alone. God is carrying you, even when you feel you’ve got to traverse the mountains of adversity, sorrow or fear alone.  You are never alone, beloved, and the hard roads never last forever. Rejoice in Him! Hang on to Him! He’ll never leave you or forsake you, He’ll never let you down.  You can trust Him always, for His name is Love and His character is your security. Rely on others, you might not make it. Rely on yourself and it won’t go well. But rely on the Lord and you’ll always be safe! Don’t get your eyes of the Savior for He’s never taken His eyes off of you.

Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

Psalm 48:14 For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die.

Psalm 121:1, 8  I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

I Corinthians 1:9 God will do this, for He is faithful to do what He says, and He has invited you into partnership with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Not Sure if You're an Overcomer? God is Your Source

There is a lot of talk these days about survivalism. However you feel about it, merit can always be found in preparing ahead for hard times.  Having gone through an ice storm several years ago, we were thankful we had extra food in the cabinet so that we didn’t go hungry, for we literally could not get out of our driveway for days! Our electricity was off for a week and we had to resort to techniques for healthy living and cleaning that were beyond the norm.  I heated water in the fireplace and washed dishes at the sink.  We heated our food at the fireplace as well.  We lived downstairs and slept on pallets while closing off the upstairs. Literally going to the bathroom was about like going to the old fashioned outhouse – it was cold and we had to carry a flashlight! We also had to learn how to entertain ourselves! We still had two kids at home who were not having fun. We learned that you don’t have to have the TV on 24/7.  We played card games and board games. I put together a lot of puzzles.  We talked to one another and reminisced and laughed a lot! We had time for one another and the things that meant so much to us.

Now, we didn’t have to suffer at all really, but it reminds us that when God allows us to go through hard times we can be resourceful and seek His face. That if we should need to stand for our faith or go through truly hard things, we can do it with God’s help.

I admit I am no expert on the subject of survivalism, but I know one thing – God’s promises are for His people. In good times, they are a reminder to walk with Him. In bad times, they are a source of comfort to seek His face. In times of plenty, He warns us through His Word not to forget Him. In times of hardship and want, He reminds us in His Word to trust Him.  Should we prepare ahead? Absolutely, for God’s Word tells us so.

Oh beloved, do you know how to survive? Are you struggling with what if’s and if only’s? Are you concerned that when things get hard you won’t have enough or that you won’t know how to make it? Maybe you think you might have to suffer and you don’t know what you’ll do.  Run to the Lord this morning and let Him set up your survival skills! His Word has marvelous biographies of heroes of the faith who were victorious in battle, courageous in the face of incredible obstacles and fearless in the days of famine, peril and war.  Although they went through hard times, they were triumphant for their destinies were set by the Lord.

You are a survivor! You will overcome by the blood of the lamb. You will be victorious because it is through God you will do valiantly. He will tread over your enemies. He will make a way where there is no way. He will care for you just as He cared for Sarah and Joshua and Joseph and Daniel. Everywhere you read in the Bible there are wonderful accounts of champions of the faith.  Look to the ultimate heroes of the Word of God and see – no one who trusts in the Lord will be disappointed for His everlasting covenant of grace surrounds those who put their trust in Him!

Always remember that God loves you and has a marvelous plan for your life. When you seek His face first and become a proponent of His ways, He will guide you, He will instruct you, and He will watch over you and keep you in His arms all the way to Heaven! Now that’s worth preparing for! That’s worth praising His name!

Exodus 15:2 The Lord is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise Him— my father’s God, and I will exalt Him!

Jude 1:24 Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault.

Isaiah 51:12 I, yes I AM the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear?

Jeremia 17:7 But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

It is In the Heights that We Really Learn to Know Him

As I was looking at the photos taken of our recent ride to Petit Jean I was reminded of what a daring man I married! Several photos were taken, not only by me, but others that showed him on top of boulders, out on the cliffs and overlooking chasms. All these years I’ve watched him launch out to places I don’t dare go.  He has always asked me to go along with him, but most times I declined. On the rare occasions where I mustered up enough courage to go with him it turned out to be so worth it! The view would be so wonderful, the scene exhilarating and the realization that I had the courage to go with him was great!  I find that my husband has taught me a lot about life, about taking chances and about looking at the scenery rather than concentrating on the fear and I’m thankful again that He’s mine.  

Oh beloved!  Our walk with God is like this. We love to stroll with Him in the meadows where there’s not much trouble, few decisions and no stress.  Yet it is in the heights of the unfamiliar that we really begin to know Him and to trust Him and thus to follow Him. While it may seem safer to reside in the valley, it is up on the mountain that real change takes place - the mountains where we’re out of our comfort zones, loose from our earthly bonds and clinging only to Him. Why don’t you take His Hand this morning and say yes. Yes to the unknown, yes to the higher calling, yes to the place where you will live with “less of me and more of Thee”.  His marvelous plan is out of this world for you.  Not only that, the view is astounding and the air is fresher. You can trust His plan, you can climb up and be full of courage as together you and the Lord walk the walk He has planned for you.  Take a chance today and watch how your life lets go of the fear holding you to the meadow.  He loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that really matters.

 

Habakkuk 3:19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.

Mark 8:34  Then, calling the crowd to join His disciples, He said, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me.

Psalm 94:18-19 “I cried out, “I am slipping!” but Your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.”

Psalm 143:10  Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.