Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
How about that? One of the newest rages in communities everywhere is electric bikes. Long before we took the plunge and started our next chapter, we talked about buying a pair of these bikes so we could ride and ride together. Well, we finally took that plunge too. These bikes are not cheap, so we decided to use the individual love gifts you gave us to purchase them. Now…every time we ride, we will think of you all.
So, what’s up with an electric bike? Since my early days in Harrisburg, I have ridden bikes on and off. My first thought when Judy mentioned this was, “what is the purpose of an electric bike”? I thought riding meant exercise and exercise meant pedaling and sweating. Well, it turns out that there can be some of that…or none of that. Let me explain. Our bikes have several settings. First, it can be like a good old-fashioned bike. You simply turn the battery part off and pedal your heart out. Now, you need to know that is a challenge because these dudes weigh a hefty 65 pounds. Compare that with a regular bike that weighs about 25 pounds, and you can see—and feel the difference. So pedal if you want—but be prepared to sweat—a lot.
The second setting is something called pedal assist. With this setting you still pedal but the electric motor does a chunk of the work for you. Now this is where I was surprised. I found out that even though pedal assist helps you, your legs and heart still get a pretty good workout. So, you tell the bike how much help you need or want and away you go. But wait—we aren’t done. The third and final setting is when the bike does all the work. All you do is twist a throttle on the handlebar and the electric motor takes you wherever you want to go. In some ways, it is similar to riding a motorcycle, but not. It turns out, the bike will do as much or as little as you desire. And that, Grits readers, is just like our Father.
You see, God is ready and willing to go with us. And how much we are willing to rely on Him is how much easier the journey will be. The truth is, just like the bike, we can tell God, “no thanks” and try to do life on your own. That is simply a poor choice. We weren’t made to live like that. A much better choice is what we will call, “God assist.” We do our part, which often is simply trusting and believing, and leave the rest to Him. In other words, we do life doing what we can and should do, and leave the rest to Him.
The final part is the best. You see, we are constantly assured that we can totally and completely trust in Him. He is more than willing to carry us every day and in every way. Again, all we must do is trust. The only option that should never be an option is thinking that we don’t need God’s help. Like I said—bad choice. But the other two, God assist, and God dependence teach us an important lesson that no matter what—He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 