WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN – INSTALLMENT SEVEN

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN – INSTALLMENT SEVEN

Focus

        One thing that God taught me through the journey of the bike ride was “focus”.  In life, I tend to start many projects then get side-tracked, leaving project unfinished until a later time.  It is interesting that the name of the organization which had sponsored the bike ride is Focus on the Family or often times, just called Focus. I have heard many pastors, over the years preach on the Scripture about Jesus walking on the water.  Below is the Scripture regarding that episode.

Matthew 14 22-32

 ²² Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

 ²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
 ²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
 ²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
   ²⁹ “Come,” he said.
   Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
 ³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
 ³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
        The problem that Peter had was that he lost his focus.  He took his eyes off Jesus and onto himself and his fears. At the outset of the bike ride training, I saw the impossible.   In order for me to complete that task, it was essential that I took my eyes off myself and focused on the Lord.  I didn’t always do that as shown by my crying, complaining and whining.  But through it all, I could only be successful on a particular day when I stopped thinking about myself and placed my trust and my obedience in the Lord.  When my fears or pain in my knees caused me to believe that I would never finish the ride, I began to falter.  Each and every time I got to that point, the Lord would bring someone or something into my life which would change my perspective and bring me back to focus on the task at hand.  Dead birds was one thing he used to get me to focus on what was important – on His love for me and that He was with me at all times. 
         On the first day of the ride when I began to cry because of the excruciating pain in my knees and total discouragement that I would never make it to San Francisco, He brought an angel in the form of Terri to raise up the seat of my bike so that I could finish the ride.  As I type this, it just occurred to me that I had no more trouble with my knees the rest of the ride.  How strange that I am just realizing it now after almost ten years.  That shows me that I am still learning from that experience.