While we spent almost a month in southwestern Indiana, we had a lot of time to ride our e-bikes. If you are unfamiliar with how e-bikes work, they have gears like regular bikes do, but in addition, they also have a pedal assist system (PAS). There are 5 PAS settings, which boost the pedaling feature, giving the bike extra power to make pedaling up long or steep hills easier. There is also a throttle. When the throttle is turned, the motor on the bike takes over and does all the work.
In the middle of Amish country, we rode our e-bikes past acres and acres of corn and soybean farms as we explored the area. Since the town’s only “grocery store” was a Dollar General, we had plenty of excuses to hop on our bikes and take a ride to visit several of the nearby Amish markets, sometimes even following a horse and buggy down the road as we went. While biking on one of our ventures, this thought came to mind: The roads we were traveling represent our lives and our e-bikes represent the Holy Spirit.
The flat straight roads are our life of comfort. There’s no straining, no frustration. Everything is right where it needs to be. The Holy Spirit is there, giving us everything we need (and more) to navigate our life, and we enjoy the ride.
As I started up a small incline, I thought about how it was like the minor setbacks we endure – a headache, almost running out of gas, oversleeping and being late for work. These problems are annoying and sometimes at the moment seem difficult, but in the big scheme of things, they are the small stuff. We pop some Tylenol or pray, “Lord, please let my boss be in a good mood” or “If you get me to the gas station, I promise I’ll never let my gas needle get to ‘E’ again!” We have to pedal a bit harder to get up the incline, but the Holy Spirit is still carrying us through. Then we eventually level out at the top and have peace.
Up the road we made a turn and came to a stop sign. This stop sign represents a crossroads in our life, a place where we need to stop until we know it’s safe to go and which way we should turn. Maybe it’s a decision about a career change, or whether to start your own business or start a family. With this type of decision, Cherie and I follow Proverbs 16:3, which says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” We pray for direction, asking God to show us His will for our next move. Once we receive our answer, we start again, sometimes needing a little throttle boost from the Holy Spirit to get us started on this new path. Pedaling down the road with the Holy Spirit, we are thankful, at ease, and confident that this road feels familiar to those we have been on before and that we are strengthened for this challenge in life.
To our surprise, up ahead was a massive hill, possibly 500 feet above the elevation we were at. (And I thought Indiana was flat!) To climb this mammoth hill, we dropped the gear on our bikes, kicked up the PAS, and started pedaling harder. This steep hill represents those issues in life we just can’t handle on our own. It could be forgiving someone who deeply hurt us, a serious illness or injury, a relationship that looks like it will never be functional or loving, an addiction we just can’t seem to break, etc. We start by dropping down the gear. That’s humility. We kick up the PAS. That’s our reliance on the Holy Spirit. In reality, we’ve been relying on Him the whole time, but now we lean in, pray, spend time in His presence, and receive His strength and power to finish the uphill climb. (Philippians 4:13, 4:19). It may still be a struggle, but we can make it with Him doing the heavy lifting.
The fact is, for those of us who follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior, we have access every moment of every day to the Holy Spirit. He is there with all wisdom, love, and power to guide us through everything – from the easiest to the most difficult of situations. As Christians, we are continuously being carried by the Holy Spirit. Yet sometimes we forget to acknowledge that we are always riding our e-bikes, so we don’t turn on the power or we keep it in low power-assist, even when we’re climbing a hill. The Holy Spirit is our Helper (John 14:26). The amount that we allow Him to help depends on us. Sometimes we just need to remember who’s carrying us.
May God give you peace, understanding, and awareness for all your uphill battles!
We love you all!
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Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.
~ Proverbs 16:3 NIV
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
~ Philippians 4:13 NKJV
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
~ Philippians 4:19 NLT
But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor – Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.
~ John 14:26 AMP
