A head wind and a little dark cloud

[JimB]

Tonight I went on my ritual bike ride in the evening. Didn't Mrs. White say something about those with desk jobs should be careful to make sure that they get proper exercise? Something I'm trying to be purposeful about again this summer.

Anyway.... it wasn't too long into ride before I discovered that for almost half of the ride I'd have a stiff head wind. That made the going the really tough. The one hill that isn't normally a big deal was hard work. It just didn't seem like I had what it took to keep going and as I went along I really considered turning back a couple of times it just seemed to hard and not worth the effort. But each time I considered it I got the impression that I should just keep going and that I was to learn a lesson tonight. I had to pedal much harder than normal just to keep going it seemed. At times I really wanted to turn around it would be so much easier.

However, when I turned north to start the second leg of my ride I looked to the east. In the east I saw a little dark cloud and I would describe as about the size of a man's hand. And immediately I thought of the Lord's 2nd coming. Then the lesson hit home.

The road to our deliverance is not going to be easy and when times are so tough that it seems we should give up  and that it's not worth effort that we should trust the Lord to give us strength to keep going. Our spiritual leg muscles may burn but we just need to pedal through it and keep our minds on Christ on rely on Him and He will see us through.

I know that these are not new thoughts. We know from the Bible and SOP that times will be very tough. But there is something about actually experiencing the lesson in such a manner and that this was God's way of speaking to me this evening and driving home the lesson even further.

God is good!!!

[Brian M]

So true Jim, what an excellent thought! Thanks for sharing it.

[Mimi]

Jim, that is a wonderful object lesson, my brother.

[Richard Myers]

Is this not that "still small voice" that is speaking to each of us?  Sadly, many do not identify Him and some no longer hear. Nature is God's second Book. As we commune with God during the day, especially surrounded by nature, we too may experience what our Brother Jim does. 

Thanks for sharing, Brother Jim! Let us teach these object lessons and the need to learn ourselves directly from nature and nature's God.