One Ride, Two Perspectives

Last night Dan and I took a quad ride on the Little Manistee ORV Loop. We left well after 8:00 pm and knew that we would lose daylight soon. It was a beautiful night with almost a full moon. The trail had just been groomed. It was a perfect night for a ride. We saw at least 10 deer and two of them were bucks. As we traveled and we lost sunlight I started to question where we were. I started thinking I took a wrong turn because everything looked different. I have ridden this trail many times but when darkness fell I started to question if I was on the right path. I started thinking about my life and realized that too often this is when I start to doubt. When things get dark or I can’t see what’s ahead I start to ask questions and doubt what God has planned for me. The ORV trail is marked and there are not many turns going off of it. I just have to follow the signs and the trail. Proverbs 3:5-6 states: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

God knows what is best for us. He has a plan laid out for our lives with signs along the way to direct our paths. We need to let go push our doubts aside and enjoy the ride. We (I) spend too much time worry about what’s ahead and sometime miss the joys of the day. So as I go about my week I am going to be in God’s Word and follow his leading. Remember Psalm 119:105 says: Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Trust HIM!

Hey, this is Dan. In reading Chad’s post above, I was inspired to add my own perspective.When Chad had asked me if I wanted to go, I was conflicted. I’d just spent about three hours traipsing through heavy brush and bogs looking for the flora and fauna of God’s creation. After that, I threw hay bales for another 45 minutes or so. That said, I was already pretty exhausted, but there’s something in me that just can’t turn down the chance to ride. As tired as I was, the adrenaline was rushing through me and I was ready to go!

Hitting the trails, the first thing I noticed was how smooth they were after just being groomed. It would have been awesome to simply enjoy the sights as we cruised over flat trails. Quickly, though, I noticed that I couldn’t really see much because it was so dry that the dust clouded my vision. As darkness fell, it began becoming incredibly difficult to see anything… including some of the sharp turns on the trail. I fell further and further back from Chad, hoping the distance would dissipate the dust and allow me to see.

Though this was effective in letting me see the trail a little better, it had another effect on me… loneliness. It’s amazing how reassuring it is to see the red tail lights of another vehicle when you’re on a winding path through the dark wilderness. It made me think about how often, because of fear, I slowdown in my pursuit of God in order to attempt to see the twists and turns in the path ahead of me. That’s not what we’re called to do! We’re called to charge ahead, pursuing God full throttle and trusting that the light ahead of us will guide us to safety. Unfortunately, because of my distance from Chad and my focus on the trail, I missed most of what he saw. I was so focused on not getting hurt that I neglected the beauty that God surrounded me with.

Psalms 56:3 says “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”  Also, Deuteronomy 4:29 says “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” See, God doesn’t want us to seek Him with some of ourselves but with all of our heart and soul! It takes a lot of faith to do this but as Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” It is going to be dark, dusty and difficult on the path of life but God provides a light for our way. My lesson from that ride is this, charge after God full throttle!

As leaders (dad’s, mom’s, boss’s, pastors, teachers…) we need to be aware of the needs and perspectives of those following us. Don’t move so far ahead that all the people who are following you only see your taillights. Don’t leave them so far behind that they feel alone and lost. How do we bring those that are following alongside us so they can see the big picture? As followers how do we push ourselves to come alongside full throttle?