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Hanging on For Your Life

by Jerry Ousley  
1/06/2007 / Christian Living

Ive never been a big roller coaster fan. I dont know I suppose I just like being in control of the situation and there isnt much of that on a roller coaster especially those they are coming out with nowadays. On some you are hanging underneath the track with your feet dangling in the air. Others flip you all the way around with a series of terrifying loops and twists. Still others seem to take you to the moon and then jerk the floor out from under you. I just like knowing that if I want to be tied up in knots and rolled around like a cat does a ball that its my choice and not the result of being catapulted all over the place by a manmade monstrosity.

Other people really like that stuff. My kids are two of them. Jeremy dearly loves roller coasters and has ridden about every one east of the Mississippi. His enthusiasm infected our daughter Megan and shes almost as bad if not worse than he is. There are people who make a hobby out of riding those wooden and steel beasts. They travel the country in their spare time and keep records of which coasters they have ridden and how many times. Id have to keep records of how many Ive ridden without getting sick.

Nevertheless, there was a time when my son convinced me to ride one with him. It was at Kings Island near Cincinnati Ohio and if I remember correctly it was called The Adventure Express.

Come on Dad, he taunted, It doesnt even go up high. Its just a ride through tunnels and trees Kind of like an easy jungle excursion. He made it sound like a simple train ride. I thought about it and I surely didnt want to stunt my sons life experience by letting him think that his Dad was a wimp so I agreed to ride it with him. It really didnt look too bad. But when they strapped me in with several tight-fitting belts I got this weak, uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that seemed to say, If this was an easy ride they would only need a simple lap belt. Face it mister, youre gonna die!

I managed a forced laugh with my son as the coaster slowly pulled out of the station. It was only a second or two before the thing kicked into high gear. He was right. It didnt go up very high but it sure had the twists and quick turns. I dont know how you can jerk a contraption like that around without it flying clean off the tracks! I know that if I hadnt been strapped in it would have slung me all the way to the other side of the park. I pretended to like it so he would be pleased but the truth be known I couldnt wait to get off that thing. When I finally did I just knew that the way things were coming into focus that my eyes were bouncing up and down like rubber balls. Somehow I lived through it.

Life has been compared to a roller coaster ride many times and its a good comparison. I guess the point Id like to make though is that I knew that at some point in time that coaster ride would come to an end. I didnt care much for being twisted, jerked and bounced all around while it was going on but I knew that eventually it would stop and I could climb out of that seat of death and plant my feet once again on good ole terra-firma.

The Bible tells us that for those who put their trust in Christ everything that happens to them will work for their good (see Romans 8:28). It doesnt mean that every situation in which we find ourselves is necessarily Gods will. We get out of His will quite often in fact. But it does mean that if we will allow Him to work in and through us that He will use every situation we get ourselves into including every incident of disobedience and every victory - to teach us. There will be an end to these things. When it does come to a finale then we have a choice: We can become bitter about it or we can learn from it. God wants us to learn from it. He wants that experience whether good or bad to become a part of our lives and make us into that person He has designed us to be.

So hang on in your roller coaster ride. The end is just down the tracks. Whether you enjoy the ride or cant wait to get off it will be over soon and Gods will is waiting for you at the end.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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