Learning to ride a bike. Driving a car. Roller skating. Running a marathon.
All of these take practice and skill. Most are not born doing these things.
I still remember learning to ride a bike with just two wheels! I was scared, nervous but also excited. I wanted to ride a “big girl” bike like my sisters. I fell down a time or two, opened skin, but that didn’t stop me. I got back on until one time I didn’t fall. As days went by I was riding with skill and confidence.
Many times in life we must do the “work”, practice, fall down, scrape a knee, but keep going. We would never succeed at school or in the work place if we didn’t try, put forth effort.
Recently I felt the Spirit speaking to my heart about doing something in particular. I started taking steps, but then everything fell apart. I looked around and thought, “This is a lot of work. Maybe I heard God wrong.” Since I felt a calling from God I thought it should just fall into place, be easy. Right? WRONG!
God doesn’t ask us to sit back and watch our lives on the big screen. Jesus told a parable about a king giving three of his servants pounds of silver. Two of them invested and brought more before their master. The third one did nothing; he buried it.
When we choose to neglect the calling, the talents God has given us we are like the third servant. We are not investing, doing the work. For fear of falling down, scraping our knee or the expectation that life with an all powerful God should be easy.
At the end of the parable Jesus says, “and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” Luke 19:26 NLT
When God lays a burden, a calling I want to treat it like the bike when I was five years old. I want to invest time, energy, talents into what He is asking of me. I don’t want to expect Him to peddle or move every rock out of the way. Sometimes He does do those things, but sometimes they are part of the process. Part of getting me to the destination.
When we put in the “work” we will be rewarded. What that looks like will be different for each, and we all won’t see it now.
Remember the first time you got to ride your bike to a friend’s house or ride the trails with your family? It was worth it, wasn’t it?
I have seen this illustration played out in my life with the talent God gave me for sewing. The God given desire came at a young age, junior high/high school. After many failures, the skill has taken a lifetime to develop. And I am consciously aware that God is at my side using the Fruit of the Spirit, like patience to perfect this skill even more. So with that, Melissa, I encourage you to continue to develop this skill under the guidance of our Heavenly Father. The talent is already there.
Beautiful website and beautiful post. There are times along the bike ride when everything seems to be a uphill ride on very rough terrain; yet, God is faithful to always guide along the way. He is faithful to complete the task He has begun and to show us that He is our greatest treasure well worth the struggles along the way.