20 Minutes In

I have taken up a new habit.. no... routine... no... masochistic commitment... yes, we'll call it that. 3 days a week I am finding myself on a "bike" in spinning class at LA Fitness. Spinning is straight up crazy. I would say I am experiencing somewhat of a love/hate relationship with it at this point.

A few weeks ago I noticed a pattern. Without fail - every class - I get to a point where I just feel like there is no way I can possibly go on. I want to quit. I feel like I might even die. I look up at the clock, and realize we are only 20 minutes in. I keep pedaling and notice another reality - if I can push through that 20 minute mark, I can make it through the last 40 minutes and finish strong - no problem.

So what about when you hit that 20 minute mark in ministry... What about in life? When you just want to quit. When you feel like you're dying... I guess you just keep pedaling. Maybe you hang on to the fact that if you just keep going you can finish strong, and past this point the ride may even start to become exhilarating. So you know what you've got to do is just keep pedaling.

There have been times in spinning class that I have realized the bike I was on wasn't adjusted quite right for my height (or lack thereof). I could have made up my mind to push through and just keep going. But the wisest choice was to hop off for a second and adjust the bike...

And maybe you get to a place in life where the wisest thing to do is hop off your "bike" for a minute and make some adjustments... or even just choose a new "bike" altogether. When you come to that place, you can't just keep pedaling... You've got to make some changes... but eventually you hop back on, and you just keep pedaling.

… Now the only time the best advice would not be to “just keep pedaling” would be if I were injured. If there was a wound that was agitated by this activity I could worsen the current injury or even cause a new one altogether. Rather than pushing through the pain, the wisest thing would be for me to stop and rest for a while.

Somehow all of the following verses are true:

Philippians 3:14 “I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to Heaven.” (NLT)

Psalm 46:10 "Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything." (MSG)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 “ There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.” (NLT) And maybe you could say – “A time to pedal and a time to adjust. A time to stay on, and a time to hop off”.

As we journey with Christ toward “the mark”, there are a few questions we could ask ourselves:

Is there a part of me that wants to quit, when really I need to just buck up and keep going strong?
Is there reason to pause and make some adjustments so that I can stay strong for the long haul – so that I can persevere?
To get where I need to go, is it possible I need to switch “bikes”?
Has my “pedaling” simply become striving? Is it time for me to just rest for a while, and allow God to be God – allow me to be healed?
Am I walking closely enough to Jesus to know what time it is for me?