I love the fall season, especially in southwest Virginia.
The leaves are beautiful
The air is crisp
Football games crowd Friday night schedules
Hot Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate are the drinks of choice
I love the fall!
But what makes Virginia so special is the mountains and the back roads. If you have ever spent any time in VA you know what I mean. There is nothing better then having a straight strectch of road where you can accelerate and then you have the climb up the mountain. It is the best if you are on a road with sharp hairpin turns and narrow shoulders and roadways. As you ascent the beautiful and awesome Blue Ridge Mountains you pass by some of the most picturesque overlooks. Views that will take your breath away! All of the reds, burnt organges and golds just flood the skyline. The entire time up the mountain your foot is pressing hard on the accelerator. You have the "pedal to the metal." There is excitement in seeing how fast you can take a turn and your destination is the peak... the peak of the mountain. The highest point on the mountain.
We all know whats on the other side. Its the descent. Its the downward trek. Same curves in the road and same narrow shoulders. This time, you take your foot off the accelerator. This time you coast. No need to gas the car. There is no work to be done. Now you just sit back and relax. At the top of the mountain, your car gains momentum and might even pick up speed. As you continue down the mountain and reach the other side the car slows down. The speed eventually gets slower and slower and as the road flattens the car conitnues to slow. At that point, we have two options. We can choose to put our foot back onto the gas pedal and begin to accelerate. The other option is to continue to coast until the car stops in the middle of the road. Its out of gas. There is no momentum left.
This is true of our relationship with God as well.
There are spiritual highs and times of fantastic growth and awesome times of fulfillment and spiritual renewal. Things are just going right. We are surrounded by people who love the Lord, we are being challenged to grow, the people we minister to are making decisions to give their life to the Lord, the church is growing, the volunteers are plentiful. Life is good! We are working really hard. We have the "pedal to the metal" but the ascent is exciting and opportunities and the views are rewarding! We reach the peak and are on an emotional high. We see God working and we are benefiting from the fruits of our labor.
As we decend down the mountain, we take our foot off the pedal. No gas is needed. We are still coasting on the momentum from before. Growth is still happening, times are still good and then slowly but surely, sometimes without our even knowing it, we lose that momentum and before we know it, we are stopped in the middle of the road staring at nothing but a long straight stretch. We turn around trying to figure out what happened and trying desperately to go just a little further and have just a little more coasting left within us.
I don't know how you feel, but I can tell you that I don't want to stop in the middle of the road. I want to know when I am coasting! I want to be aware of when I am losing momentum so I can make the decision to push foward and accelerate. Accelerating requires effort. Accelerating requires work but rest assured that when you are accelerating in the name of Jesus Christ and pushing towards Him and in pursuit of Him, the work is well worth it! The destination far outweighs the gas you burn to get there!
Please know that I am not saying that you are not going to have rough times in your walk. God does not promise an easy life. There are times of spiritual growth all around you and there are times when you hit a flat spot and things get a little tougher and harder to see. What I am challenging and encouraging all of us to do is to be intentional about understanding where you are.
Are you climing?
Are you at the peak?
Are you descending?
Ask God to open your eyes and make you aware of where you are. Don't wait until you are completely stopped in the middle of the road. If we are intentional and faithful in our relationship with God, He will let us know when we are going to have to push a little harder and make the decision to be more intentional and aware of our walk. We will have to push a little more and we will have to cling to what His Word says but rest assured that it is going to be easier to accelerate from a roll then from a complete stop! Cling to your faith and know that He loves you! Push forward and make the decision to try hard to get past the flat stretch. The next mountain is right around the corner!
