Ride

I was lining up this devotional for release and mistakenly put my always ending salutation at the beginning. And figured, this might be a good way to begin my devotionals as well as end them.

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!

We had rodeo tickets and Mel was going to be out of town so I asked the girls if they wanted to come and bring the kids. And of course the game was on, until my little Blake got sick and so it ended up just being Jennifer, William , Catherine, baby Molly and me. We purposely went out early not realizing that the doors to the rodeo open only an hour or so before the beginning parade, so we were forced to do the carnival in the event of passing the time. Much to the kids delight I might add. There is a kiddie area with several rides and that is where we hung out. There wasn't much to the rides, but you did have to even do a height check on some of them and they were so pumped when they were tall enough to ride. Jennifer even had to ride one when William had the height and Catherine didn't, I was quite content to babysit Molly. They did have a grand time but it was not until days later when I heard Catherine telling Gramps what they did at the carnival and how she even got to go backwards on the roller coaster. That backwards thing just sent her, as it wasn't enough for the roller coaster ride itself going forward. She is quite definitely my no fear grandchild.

We have heard the analogy about life being a roller coaster ride. And as I was considering the actual ride, it has highs and lows, sharp turns, speed changes, runs on a track, is generated by a monitoring system that is run by an inconspicuous manager, has tightly secured harnesses for safety and protection, appeals to a wild side and has a beginning and an end.
Before being seated you pretty much know what you are in for. You can see the majority of the track and the greatest differences in roller coasters is the length of the ride, the intensity of the ride, the heights and valleys of the ride, and the abrupt twists of the ride.

When dissecting the elements of a roller coaster ride, it becomes pretty easy to identify the similarities in life.
1) Hight and lows - we are all faced with highs and lows and challenges in life.
2) Sharp turns - though we are swung into unexpected events, if we are "prayed up" then we simply hold tight, take a deep breath and endure in confidence that whatever is before us is manageable through the help of the Holy Spirit
3) Speed Changes - there are times in our lives when we hit a lull and then before we know it things speed up and we find ourselves yearning for peace and calm
4) Track - If we are mindfully on God's track, in prayer, in willful desire, in faith and in confidence, our life ride will take turns and reach highs and lows but we can rest assured that God is in control and the track that he has built is sturdy and steady and without compromised engineering.
5) Manager - We may not see the control manager but we must have faith that he is watching and monitoring our every move
6) Harness - I love this one because, the tighter the harness the more secure you feel. If we consciously put on the harness of God's armor, the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, and carry the sword of the spirit, we are ready for the ride.
7) Wild Side - too often we allow fear to overcome our faith. I do live a little on the wild side, and seldom have all my p's and q's lined up in order, and that perspective generates within me a constant unquenchable desire to find God in the everyday ordinary events of life and trust him with my ride.
8) Beginning and end - every ending is a beginning of something else. You stand in the lines, find your spot, get seated, get secured, and the ride begins....and you know within minutes it will end. Same with the events that come in an out of our lives.
I remember going through one of the most difficult times in life with my daughter and a sweet friend would call me often and tell me to hang on, there will be an end to this. The end may be sooner that we expect or longer than we expect, but whatever
trial or adversity that we have found ourselves riding, God has a timeline that he has planned way ahead of the time that that event ever came to be.

We can be ambassadors for the Lord in every walk of our life. If our ride is rocky, we can be steadfast in our faith. If the ride has presented us with sharp and unexpected turns, we can be confident in our trust. If our ride has reached a height, we can praise God. If our ride has reached a low, we can thank God too for the opportunity that he has given us to show him capable and able and worthy of glory in spite of difficulties. If our ride is on an uphill trudge, God will give us strength to climb. The fruits of our willingness to submit to God in all phases of our life will be the very treasures that he will use for his purposes. We can ride through anything if we have God as our shield, our witness, our protector and our guide. For his track for our life has been engineered especially for his glory and our best.

Colossians 1:10
so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

For Catherine, my little one who got such a charge our of riding the roller coaster backwards, I am grateful that she has that kind of spirited joy. And I pray that she will one day be able to transfer those joys into her adult life as she rides beside God on her journey. A roller coaster ride is daunting to many as well as an exhilarating ride for others. And wether or not you actually step foot on the cars of the roller caster track, be mindful that your very life ride is very much the same experience.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the ride that you have given to me. May I stay harnessed in your power and protection, and know that in the valleys and on the heights, and throughout the sharp turns, you are there continually monitoring my ride. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!

website:
www.cathyjodeit.com
http://simplygod-cathy.blogspot.com/
email address: cjodeit@gmail.com