Shifting Gears – Who’s Strength Are You Moving In?

How is it two months since we last chatted?  It is an interesting writing season – although the thoughts come fast and furious, the release to share them is happening a lot less often.  There are seasons like that – when what God give you, is really more for you than for others.  He is a gracious Father and He knows what we need and when we need it.

Last time we talked about learning to let go when seasons change.  That has been a hard lesson for me – so I have been sitting with that one a lot lately. I would love to hear how you are doing with learning to let go.  It is always nice to share with others; it helps us to feel less alone in our journey. What we are learning could also be the lesson someone else is waiting on. Feel free to share in the comment section below.

The weather has been wonderful of late – I love the spring, as the days get progressively longer and warmer and I feel more like being outside and less like hibernating inside. Now it is almost summer, and last night it was still bright after 9pm.  This makes me very happy.

For the last few weeks, I have been biking with my husband – we started with 10 kms and are now up to 20 kms.  I love biking.  The wind in your face, the speed.  What I have not always liked about biking are the hills. Hills are hard.  And I am competitive.  Therefore, if my husband does the hill without getting off the bike and walking up, I want to do the hill without getting off the bike and walking up (even though he bikes A LOT more than I do).

The first few days we biked, I was determined to make all those hills – they were pretty gradual ones, but I still had to work hard to build up speed before the hill and then make a fast run at it to have any chance of getting to the top in one piece.  It was exhilarating but exhausting.

My husband pointed out that I was not shifting my gears. Now, in my defence, my old bike had terrible gears that practically threw me off the bike when I shifted.  Because of that, I never got in the habit of using them.  My husband pointed out that the bike I am using now has nice smooth gears that shift easily and he showed me how to shift into the lower gear when going uphill.

Because I am in a season, where I am also trying to do new things – even though change is scary and difficult (even when you know it is good for you) – the next day when we biked I tried out the gears.  What a difference!

The next day when we were biking, I was happily shifting gears all over the place – and feeling pretty good about my new skills.  Still, there were more lessons to be learned. As we were approaching the last gradual hill on the way back (about 17 kms in), I was peddling fast to build up speed before the hill, expending a lot of energy, when I heard God say, “You don’t need to run the hill, just shift the gear down and maintain your normal speed.” 

Now, you may think it was odd for God to be giving me direction about how to use my gears (although He does speak to us in the little everyday things), but He had a bigger lesson for me.  

I slowed down my fast pace and shifted the gear as I hit the bottom of the hill.  To my surprise, He was completely right! I made the hill with energy to spare at the top.  YEAH!

As we continued on, God spoke clearly, “you have been running the hills fast and furiously, expending so much energy, doing it all in your own strength when all you had to do was use the gears – that is what they are there for”.    

While I was still processing that, He continued, “you have been doing the same in your life, all of your life – running the hills fast and furiously, expending so much energy, doing it all in your own strength  – but I have given you the Holy Spirit –the gears for your everyday life –use what I have given you.  You do not need to do it in your own strength – know how to access and use the power you have within you – the power I have given you.  In your strength you can get to the top of the hill, exhausted, discouraged, maybe even disillusioned.  When you use your gears and go in the power of the Holy Spirit, wait and see where I will take you, in my strength, not yours.”

WOW!

Pause for a minute and let that sink in. 

Did that hit you as it hit me when I heard it? 

Did it hit you as it has hit me every day since?

If not, then maybe you need to sit with it a little longer.

After a few days, we went beyond the 8km mark one way and hit the BIG hill.  It is a winding, back and forth, very tall and steep hill.  Remember the competitive me.  My husband graciously offered to walk up the hill with me (even though I knew he could do it without getting off the bike). I said to him, “can you bike up the hill?”  He said yes and I said, “Well I am going to give it a try.”  This time I did not run the hill, I maintained my speed, used the gears the way they are meant to be used and I made that hill on the first try! YEAH! 

More importantly, in the last few weeks, as God continues to remind me that I do not need to do everything (anything) in my own strength, I am learning to access the power of the Holy Spirit that is within me.  Do I get it right every time?  No.  I am learning.  Is it always easy?  No. Nevertheless, I will never learn unless I choose to surrender, submit, and lean into the strength of the Father. 

We were never meant to be independent and self-sufficient.  We were meant to live in relationship with an almighty and powerful God and in community with one another. 

Whose strength are you moving in today?

Are you ready to shift gears?

As always, it is so wonderful to chat with you.  Drop a comment below and let me know how you are doing. I would love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Remember,

you are valuable,

you are loved,

where you are,

just as you are!