My husband and I have spent many patient (and many not-so-patient) hours over the past few months teaching our preschool-aged daughter how to ride her bicycle. Before any foray into bicycle riding instruction, we considered the task at hand to be a rather simple process:
- Place child upon bicycle.
- Tell child to pedal.
- Tell child to steer.
- Celebrate successful bicycling.
She even had training wheels! What could go wrong?
In fact, training a new bicycle rider happens to be a much more complicated, involved task. Our daughter excels at pedaling confidently and steering correctly until she reaches a hill. Then, all of our training, wheedling, encouragement, bribes, and threats go unheeded. She panics by jerking her handlebar to the side and ceasing to pedal. Losing her balance, she and her bike hit the pavement. She approaches each subsequent hill with even more fear, and the same scenario repeats itself again.
We have continued to shower her with encouragement, “Just go straight, and keep pedaling!” As adults, it seems obvious that bicycling to the top of a hill is done the exact same way as bicycling along a flat sidewalk. The only difference is the amount of effort.
Recently, I heard our pastor reference Proverbs 16:17 in a sermon. The second half of that verse reads, …he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. In that moment, God reminded me of our bicycle struggles. I realized that this simple philosophy works for so many more things than just pedaling up a hill.
Our lives are filled with many hills God expects us to climb. It is in our human nature to panic, jerk the handlebars, and stop pedaling the moment we encounter these hills of difficulty. However, we can overcome them if we are willing to follow biblical instructions to do so. We can “keep the way” through following two simple commands.
First, go straight.
Proverbs 4:25-27 commands us, Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. When we encounter those hills in our lives, it is so important to stay on the path where we know we should be. Stay in the Bible; stay in church; stay in the company of good counselors; and stay in the place God has put us.
Last, keep pedaling.
Galatians 6:9 says, And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. It is undoubtedly harder to keep the way when we are struggling, but that does not negate God’s commands. Through His strength, we must keep going no matter how difficult our circumstances are.
After a particularly-rough bike riding training session, I turned to my daughter and asked her a question, “Who knows how to ride a bike better? Mommy or Juliet?” Without a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Me!” Therein lay the heart of her problem. She had never seen me ride a bike. She was trusting by faith that I knew how to teach her, and apparently, her faith was very small! I fear that many of us tumble to the pavement because, although we would never admit it out loud, we think we know more than our Heavenly Father. Our faith is too small to trust the words of our Instructor Who will help us overcome life’s hill.
If, like me, you are facing a hill today, determine to keep the way by faith. Go straight, and keep pedaling as fast as you can. Soon, you will find yourself on top of that once-impossible hill in your life through faith and trust in God.
by Abigail Medford