Devotion

YOU EVER NOTICE HOW EASY IT IS TO GET STUCK IN A CERTAIN GEAR? I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT ON THE BIKE. I'M TALKING ABOUT IN LIFE.

MAYBE YOU'VE BEEN ROLLING STEADY IN THE SAME LANE FOR YEARS. SAME JOB, SAME HABITS. SAME MINDSET.

YOU'RE MOVING, SURE, BUT NOT REALLY GOING ANYWHERE NEW. YOU FEEL THE RUMBLE UNDER YOU, BUT SOMETHING DEEP DOWN SAYS THERE'S MORE ROAD AHEAD THAN WHAT YOU'RE SEEING.

I'VE BEEN THERE. FOR A LONG TIME, I RODE THROUGH LIFE WITH MY OWN HANDS ON THE BARS, THINKING I WAS IN FULL CONTROL. I THOUGHT I KNEW WHERE I WAS HEADED. I WAS CHASING MY OWN GOALS, RUNNING ON MY OWN STRENGTH AND DOING THINGS MY WAY.

AND FOR AWHILE, IT FELT LIKE I HAD IT FIGURED OUT. UNTIL LIFE STARTED TO GET HEAVY. THE ROAD GOT ROUGH. I STARTED BREAKING DOWN INSIDE. 

SEE, WHEN YOU YOU'RE STUCK IN A LOWER GEAR FOR TOO LONG, THE MOTOR STARTS TO STRAIN. YOU CAN SMELL THE HEAT. YOU CAN FEEL THE RESISTANCE. IT'S LIKE LIFE'S TRYING TO TELL YOU: YOU WEREN'T MEANT TO STAY HERE.

THAT'S WHEN GOD STARTED SPEAKING TO ME, NOT IN A THUNDERBOLT OR A FLASH OF LIGHT, BUT IN THOSE QUIET MOMENTS WHEN I WAS TIRED OF RUNNING. AND I FELT HIM SAY, "IT'S TIME TO SHIFT."

NOW, FOR ANYONE WHO'S EVER RIDDEN, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN BY THAT. EVERY GEAR HAS IT'S PURPOSE. FIRST GETS YOU MOVING. SECOND GIVES YOU TRACTION. THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH - EACH ONE BUILDS ON THE LAST. BUT THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT HITTING THAT TOP GEAR - SEVENTH.

SEVENTH GEAR ISN'T ABOUT RACING ANYMORE. IT'S ABOUT SMOOTH POWER. EFFICIENCY. PEACE. YOU'RE NOT FIGHTING THE BIKE. YOU'RE FLOWING WITH IT. YOU'RE CRUISING, NOT GRINDING. 

THAT'S WHERE THE RIDE BECOMES EFFORTLESS, NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE STRONG BUT BECAUSE THE MACHINE'S FINALLY RUNNING WHERE IT WAS DESIGNED TO BE. 

THAT'S WHAT WALKING WITH CHRIST FEELS LIKE. 

WHEN WE LIVE LIFE OUR OWN WAY, WE'RE CONSTANTLY REVVING TOO HIGH. BURNING OUT. TRYING TO FIX EVERYTHING OURSELVES. WE THINK WE CAN MUSCLE THROUGH EVERY MILE AND EVERY CURVE, UNTIL WE HIT THAT WALL WHERE NOTHING WORKS ANYMORE. 

THAT'S WHEN JESUS STEPS IN. HE DOESN'T COME TO CONDEMN OR SHAME. HE COMES TO GUIDE. HE SAYS, "COME TO ME, ALL WHO ARE WEARY AND BURDENED AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST."

THAT'S HIS WAY OF SAYING, "SHIFT." LET ME CARRY SOME OF THAT WEIGHT. LET ME TAKE THE BARS FOR A WHILE. BECAUSE SEVENTH GEAR, THAT LIFE OF PEACE AND PURPOSE, ISN'T ABOUT SPEED OR SUCCESS. IT'S ABOUT SURRENDER.

WHEN YOU FINALLY LET GO OF THE CLUTCH AND HAND OVER CONTROL TO CHRIST, EVERYTHING CHANGES. YOU START TO FEEL THAT BALANCE AGAIN. THE ROAD DOESN'T STOP BEING ROUGH BUT YOU STOP RIDING ALONE. 

YOU START SEEING LIFE DIFFERENTLY. THE SAME ROAD THAT USED TO WEAR YOU DOWN BECOMES THE PLACE WHERE YOU FIND JOY. THE SAME SCARS THAT USED TO BRING YOU SHAME BECOME REMINDERS OF GRACE. YOU REALIZE THE RIDE WAS NEVER ABOUT PROVING YOURSELF, IT WAS ABOUT TRUSTING THE ONE WHO BUILT YOU. 

SOME OF YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, "THAT SOUNDS GREAT, BUT I'M NOT THERE YET." THAT'S OKAY. NONE OF US START OUT IN SEVENTH. YOU DON'T BUY A BIKE AND DROP IT INTO TOP GEAR RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE. YOU START WITH THE BASICS. SAME WITH FAITH. 

IT BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP, A SMALL PRAYER, A CONVERSATION, A SPARK OF CURIOSITY. MAYBE IT'S ADMITTING THAT YOU'VE BEEN TRYING TO HANDLE TOO MUCH ON YOUR OWN. 

MAYBE IT'S REALIZING THAT THE PEACE YOU'VE BEEN CHASING HASN'T SHOWN UP YET BECAUSE IT'S NOT FOUND IN THE NEXT PAYCHECK, NEXT RELATIONSHIP OR THE NEXT BUILD. IT'S FOUND IN HIM. 

CHRIST MEETS YOU RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE - IN THE GARAGE, ON THE ROAD, IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR MESS. HE'S NOT WAITING FOR YOU TO CLEAN UP BEFORE YOU SHOW UP. HE'S SAYING, "BRING IT ALL. I'LL HELP YOU CARRY IT."

THERE'S A VERSE IN PROVERBS, VERSE 3:5-6 THAT SAYS, "TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATH'S STRAIGHT." THAT'S NOT JUST A NICE CHURCH QUOTE - THAT'S REAL LIFE DIRECTION.

BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE RIDING BLIND, WITH FOG ALL AROUND AND POTHOLES UP AHEAD, YOU NEED A GUIDE. YOU NEED SOMEONE WHO SEES THE ROAD BEFORE YOU DO. AND THAT'S WHAT JESUS DOES, HE RIDES AHEAD, LIGHTS THE WAY AND SAYS, "FOLLOW ME."

WHEN YOU SHIFT INTO SEVENTH WITH HIM, THINGS CHANGE. NOT INSTANTLY. NOT MAGICALLY. BUT DEEPLY. YOUR ANGER STARTS TO SOFTEN. YOUR FEARS START TO SHRINK. YOU START TO FIND PURPOSE IN THE SAME LIFE THAT USED TO FEEL EMPTY.

AND ONE DAY, YOU'LL LOOK BACK AT THE MILES YOU'VE RIDDEN AND REALIZE - IT WASN'T LUCK THAT GOT YOU HERE. IT WAS GRACE. PURE, UNDESERVED GRACE. 

SO MAYBE TODAY, YOU'RE STUCK IN SECOND. OR GRINDING IN FOURTH. MAYBE LIFE'S GOT YOU REDLINING. I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU, IT'S TIME TO SHIFT. LET GO OF WHAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK. LET CHRIST TAKE CONTROL OF THE THROTTLE. 

BECAUSE THERE'S ANOTHER GEAR WAITING FOR YOU, A GEAR THAT'S SMOOTHER, STRONGER AND BUILT FOR THE LONG HAUL.

THAT'S WHAT SEVENTH GEAR FEELS LIKE. PEACE IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS. PURPOSE IN THE MIDDLE OF PAIN. POWER THAT'S NOT YOUR OWN, BUT HIS. AND ONCE YOU'VE FELT THAT, YOU'LL NEVER WANT TO RIDE ANY OTHER WAY. 

GOD BLESS

NICK "CROW" PARCEL | HEAVENBOUND CHOPPER CO.