O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
happy are those who take refuge in him.
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
David proclaims, “those
who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” That’s a pretty extravagant promise from
a man on the run for his life. However, it is a true statement. God does provide us with all that we need.
It may not be what we THINK we need or what we WANT at that moment. Sometimes
it’s only looking back that we see that God did indeed provide what we need.
In Lent we hear many
sermons on taking time to be in the wilderness and exploring our spiritual
connection to God. We don’t hear as many sermons about being thankful to God
for those wilderness times. It’s an odd paradox that sometimes it is the very
wilderness times, when we think we are far from God, we turn around and realize that God is just behind us. God is
walking through our wildernesses with you and me.
There are many metaphors
for God’s protection for us in the wilderness. I like the image of a child
learning to ride a bike. We may start out using training wheels, or maybe not. Either
way, Mom and Dad are right there helping and watchfully encouraging us to pedal
and holding onto the seat to help us balance. Then one day we discover we are
pedaling and balancing all on our own with Mom running down the road behind us,
still ready to catch us, and to pick us up when we skid on gravel. God’s like
that. We think we are pedaling alone and really we are not alone.
In fact, years ago I was
given a poem about Jesus that presents another vision of bike riding with
Jesus. (Sorry I don’t know who wrote the poem-there’s not any acknowledgement
on any of the websites that have this poem.)
When I first met Christ
It seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride,
But it was a tandem bike,
And I noticed that Christ
Was in the back helping me pedal.
I don't know just when it was that
He suggested we change places,
But life has not been the same since.
When I had control, I knew the way,
It was rather boring, but predictable...
It was the shortest distance between two points.
But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
Up mountains, and through rocky places,
At breakneck speeds,
It was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, "Pedal"
I worried and was anxious and asked,
"Where are you taking me?"
He laughed and didn't answer,
And I started to learn to trust.
I forgot my boring life
And entered into the adventure.
And when I'd say, "I'm scared,"
He'd lean back and touch my hand.
He took me to people with gifts that I needed.
Gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy.
He said, "Give the gifts away;
They're extra baggage, too much weight."
So I did, I gave them to the people we met,
And I found that in giving I received,
And still our burden was light.
I did not trust Him, at first, In control of my life.
I thought He'd wreck it;
But He knows bike secrets,
Knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
Knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
Knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.
And I am learning to shut up
and pedal in the strangest places,
And I'm beginning to enjoy the view
And the cool breeze on my face
With my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.
And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore,
He just smiles and says...
It seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride,
But it was a tandem bike,
And I noticed that Christ
Was in the back helping me pedal.
I don't know just when it was that
He suggested we change places,
But life has not been the same since.
When I had control, I knew the way,
It was rather boring, but predictable...
It was the shortest distance between two points.
But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
Up mountains, and through rocky places,
At breakneck speeds,
It was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, "Pedal"
I worried and was anxious and asked,
"Where are you taking me?"
He laughed and didn't answer,
And I started to learn to trust.
I forgot my boring life
And entered into the adventure.
And when I'd say, "I'm scared,"
He'd lean back and touch my hand.
He took me to people with gifts that I needed.
Gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy.
He said, "Give the gifts away;
They're extra baggage, too much weight."
So I did, I gave them to the people we met,
And I found that in giving I received,
And still our burden was light.
I did not trust Him, at first, In control of my life.
I thought He'd wreck it;
But He knows bike secrets,
Knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
Knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
Knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.
And I am learning to shut up
and pedal in the strangest places,
And I'm beginning to enjoy the view
And the cool breeze on my face
With my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.
And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore,
He just smiles and says...
"Pedal."
When we are pedaling
through the wildernesses, and the joyful times, of our lives we can be thankful
that our God loves us enough to ride along with us. God ensures that we “Taste
and see that the Lord is good…[for]
those who seek the Lord lack no
good thing” when we turn over control. We learn, gradually or quickly, that God
loves us so much that God is with us in all things! And that’s something to be
thankful for. When we allow Jesus to take over the steering, we’ll find even
more surprises in store. Are you ready to let Jesus steer and to just ‘pedal’?
Next time we’ll look at what the Psalm says about Intercession
