How to Face the Day’s Fear and Keep Going…Even When The World Is Burning
“God is my co-pilot!”
I never liked that slogan. I like to tell folks that if God is your co-pilot then you need to change seats. God is in charge. Whether you like it or not things go a lot better if you let Jesus drive the car.
I often hear from readers that my articles are negative and that I need to do more to uplift the people. Believe it or not I am about as optimistic of a guy that you will ever run into. My Mom called me a cockeyed optimist. I am the ultimate glass-half-full kind of guy.
When people ask me how I am doing I usually answer that I am “up or getting up.” Laying around moaning about how bad things are has never been my shtick. Win or lose, there is always another game next week. I learn from my mistakes and move on. Defeat is never fatal nor final. Winners always bounce. Take a set-back and turn it into a comeback.
That is enough one-liners to keep you going for a while!!
The purpose of this commentary today is to encourage you. I’ll keep my powder dry and do my best to help you to see that the sun is always on its way up.
If the truth were to told there is very little in our lives that we are in control of. Although we do our best to keep our ship sailing smoothly we all run into choppy seas every now and then. The rough seas are the ones that make us sick. How we react when the waves are pounding us makes all of the difference.
Imagine if you will that we ride through life on a bicycle built for two. Both of the riders on the tandem are required to pedal but only one has his hands on the bars. In order to ride comfortably and accurately the two riders need to pedal as a team but only the front-seater has the responsibility of controlling where the bike rolls.
I remember riding a tandem with my father when I was young and I have never forgotten the advice that he gave me when we hopped on the bike.
“Davie,” he said. “No matter what happens you have to trust me that I will steer the bike safely. The only thing you need to do is just keep pedaling.”
That is the way life is. Perhaps it would be a lot less nerve-racking if we were able to be at the controls as we pedaled our way through life but, more often than not, we have to trust the outcome of the journey to the Man with His hands on the handle bars.
Jesus isn’t your co-pilot. He is the Man who steers the cart on the roller coaster called life.
I run into a lot of discouraged people as I go about my daily life and I am sure you do as well. I honestly don’t know how people navigate the curves of life if they can’t rest in the fact that Jesus has the world’s greatest GPS system.
The world seems to be spinning into chaos. Everywhere you turn there seems to be more questions than there are answers.
Perhaps your children are a mess and you find yourself staring into the darkness of your bedroom at night wondering how it is all going to turn out.
Maybe your company is facing layoffs and your financial future looks bumpy.
A recent visit to the doctor has confirmed that a rocky road strewn with chemotherapy and radiation lies ahead of you or maybe the political chaos in this nation has robbed you of the peace that you once had.
Every where you look “fear porn” is ruling the day. The government can’t be trusted and you find yourself feeling the same way about your church. It seems as if everything you have built your life upon is beginning to crumble.
That is why Jesus encouraged us to build our lives upon the rock. Jesus is that rock. Jesus is the Navigator. Jesus will never leave you up the creek without a paddle.
When the bumps in the road become more than you can bear your Heavenly Father glances over His shoulder and with a full-toothed grin He exhorts you:
“Keep pedaling. Just keep pedaling.”
Let this one minute video encourage you!
Image: “58 ACPS Atlanta 1996 Cycling Sandra Smith Terri Poole” by Australian Paralympic Committee. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:58_ACPS_Atlanta_1996_Cycling_Sandra_Smith_Terri_Poole.jpg#/media/File:58_ACPS_Atlanta_1996_Cycling_Sandra_Smith_Terri_Poole.jpg