My Bike Almost Killed Me

With the birth of a new year has risen my lofty ambition to workout, to become the healthiest me I can be for the year and hopefully beyond.  After all, any good New Year's resolution should cause me to make serious lifestyle changes or the desired result will never come to pass.  Anyway, I digress.  So yesterday I decided to go for a bike ride through my neighborhood, which is much bigger than the picture I was shown on google maps (google tricks me once again).  I'm not sure what I was thinking or if I was thinking, but at 6:30pm I put on the closest thing that resembled workout clothes, grabbed my jacket, and set off.  Me and my lofty ambition.  As the 39 degree wind whipped me in the face I was feeling pretty good, cruising down the street on my lean green fat grilling machine.  I'll admit, that for a second I thought I was Lance Armstrong in the winning stretch of the Tour de France.  However the fantasy quickly gave way to reality when I realized that my decent was becoming a long accent back home.  My heart was racing, legs tingling, and at one point I'm pretty sure I lost a lung.  It was at this point when I realized some things that would put my lofty goal of Tour de Neighborhood out of reach for the moment.  Before I knew it I had turned around without hesitation, gotten off my bike, and started pushing it back home.  Then came the realization that I lacked mental stamina, which explains why I lack the ability to physically endure tough circumstances when they come my way.  When things get tough I like to quit.  

As I pushed my bike up hill, I was reminded of an old movie I'd seen called Breaking Away.  The lead character Dave is completely obsessed with competitive cycling (I'm not at this point yet).  By the final race of the movie, Dave outshines his competitors when he rides without taking a break to gain the lead in the race.  However when Dave is injured he has to stop, which causes him to forfeit the lead.  Just like Dave there will be times in our lives when we'll have to stop.  At that time the desire to quit will be stronger than ever.  Prompted by that desire we'll be tempted out of frustration and a fear of failure to cheat; to find a way around the disciplines that God has set before us, but there is no other way but His. 

A competitor like Dave never quits, so Dave has his friends strap his feet to the pedals of his bike, and amidst all the pain and agony Dave regains the lead and wins the race.  I  wonder what kept Dave going?  It couldn't have been just his physical strength, so what was it?  Mental Stamina..that's it.  This is what allows us to physically endure anything.  Jesus had it, Paul had it, and Peter had it.  They knew the reality of their mission.  They knew that hardships would surely come and when they did, they knew they would be mentally prepared for them if they keep their mind steadfast on the truth, the ultimate goal being Christ.

As Christians we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit, which indwells us and imparts truth to us, which then allows us to be strengthened at our core.  Our fleshly will, will only get us so far. So being dependent on God to strengthen our minds and hearts is where it starts.  Mental Stamina will always lead to physical endurance, but physical endurance can not be maintained if we are mentally broken.  That's why I, and you should heed Paul's words.  1 Corinthians 9:26, 2 Timothy 2:5, Colossians 2:18-19, Philippians 3:13-16, and James 1:12

Shipwrecked: The Better Plan

The other day while I was making the long drive from Virginia back to Florida, I heard this pastor on the radio addressing the subject of God's plan for our lives. He was asked what it meant when we start out with Plan A and end up on Plan B? I've asked myself this question numerous times over the past year. And after much reflection God has revealed to me that I suffer from a very limited perspective. Most of the time we equate Plan B with being bad, or being our punishment for messing up along the path of Plan A, but this perspective lacks an understanding of God's grace and who He says that He is. Sometimes we do end up having to go with Plan B, because of a circumstantial crisis caused by disobedience, or selfishness, but for most of us who would claim to follow God's leading, we wouldn't put ourselves in this category. What happens when you've sought God in prayer consistently, for direction and wisdom, and still you find yourself on Plan B?

Sometimes because of my limited perspective Plan B can feel like a shipwreck, but what I think is a shipwreck is really God's plan A. And my Plan B has been God's Plan A all along. After graduating from seminary I had to release my Plan A to God, not because it was selfish or unachievable, but because God had to revamp my plan, so that it totally reflected Him, and at this very moment He is still in the process of refining me and my original Plan A to fit His bigger, better plan for the glory of the kingdom. So in doing this, He has made what I would've considered Plan B into His plan A.

Now all of that may be a little confusing, but the point is, is that if we are seeking the Lord and following His leading there is never a Plan B, but only His Plan A. Romans 8:28 states that He is working all things out for the good of those who love Him. Our God is not a Plan B kind of god, but He works all things out according to His Plan A. So be encouraged, never loosing hope, because Plan B is right where we need to be.

"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19

"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:9