Bicycles, Headlights, and Having Faith

I went running the other night (No, nobody hacked my computer and the blog bandits aren't out to get me. I really did run, okay? MIRACLES HAPPEN EVERY DAY, PEOPLE!) and passed two kids riding their bikes home as their parents followed behind them in a suburban, headlights beaming. 

I made like Bob Seger and reminisced about the days of old.

Oh, the memories. 

It seems like just yesterday my parents were trailing behind me as I biked home because I had, once again, stayed too late at a friend's house (ordering surprise pizzas for the neighbors across the street, of course). 

Looking back, I can't help but wonder...
COULDN'T MY PARENTS HAVE PUT MY BIKE IN THE BACK OF THEIR VEHICLE SO I DIDN'T HAVE TO RIDE IT HOME IN THE DARK????????????? 

I would say I'm stronger because of it, but I still have to walk my bike up hills...

Anyway, I watched as their bikes flirted with the shadows and then swiveled back into the soft glow of light that stretched before them. 

The suburban's headlights guided the two kids around the corner and out of sight.

As I continued running (dying) I imagined God driving the suburban. I envisioned Him behind the wheel, shining the headlights on His children as they pedaled quickly in front of Him, unsure of what lies ahead but moving forward nonetheless.

That, my friends, is what it means to have faith.

Walking through life with God is a lot like a bike ride home through the dark with your parents following closely behind. We can't see what lies ahead. We don't know which path to take or what will be around the corner.

We're simply riding by His headlights, trusting that He will lead us down the path He sees best fit.

We may swing a left here, jump a curb there, stop and walk our bike uphill (or for the next block or two...BIKE-WALKERS UNITE!) or worse...get our shoelaces stuck in the pedals (the mother of all bike accidents)...but because God has been faithful in the past, we can be confident He will be faithful in the future!

I REPEAT: BECAUSE GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL IN THE PAST, WE CAN BE CONFIDENT HE WILL BE FAITHFUL IN THE FUTURE!

For example, right now I'm watching webinars, taking notes from Michael Hyatt, and trying to plan speaking engagements. I don't know what will happen next or what the end result will be...but what I DO know is that God has always come through. He has always made my paths straight. I've always ended up right where He intended me to be. 

I may not be able to see what lies ahead, but I have faith God will get me wherever it is I'm going, just as He always has. 

We need to trust God the same way we trusted our parents when we were just little kids biking home after dark...because it's through the darkness we learn to trust His guidance, His vision!

I realize now why my parents didn't let me ride shotgun and take the easy way out. It wasn't because they saw potential in my cycling skills and thought I'd race the Tour de France one day. It was because they wanted to prove their faithfulness to me. Every time they led me home through the dark, they gained more of my trust. 

As darkness falls and the fog rises, may we ride by God's "headlights" today the same way we rode by our parents' headlights back then. 

God, transform our hearts. Show us what it looks like to have a childlike faith. May we stop hesitating and start moving. There are times we forget Your faithfulness. Remind us. Remind us every single day...and let us never stop trusting You and the plan You have for our lives. Amen.