Monday, June 25, 2007
I’ve just came back from Hong Kong for my school’s band competition. The weather in Hong Kong is even more unpredictable than Singapore. One moment, it can be as high as 36 degrees Celsius and the next moment, it will be raining heavily with strong winds. Anyway, after the competition on the second day, we brought the kids down to Ocean Park on the third day and I was badgered by the kids to try the roller coaster there.
If you know me well, I have a serious fear of heights. And I think my last roller coaster ride was like so many years ago! So, to be honest, I was really scared yet I wanted a challenge. Sounds familiar? So I went on this roller-coaster, with the band leader, Pamela, sitting next to me. This roller-coaster has 360-degree turns and every time it turned, I wondered why I am on the ride.
It was quite hilarious actually. Pamela was screaming and shouting “Halleluiah!” (for no reason) and I was like, “God!!”. So we sounded like two Christian fanatics throughout the ride.
I was just thinking, many Christians often liken their relationship with God as one roller-coaster ride. This means that their relationship is a tumultuous one; sometimes, you are on a high and sometimes, you are on a low. But what exactly are the characteristics of a roller-coaster ride?
It’s short though it seems long at that time.
You hate it but you love the thrill.
It seems to be going everywhere but you always end up at the same place.
It has highs and lows and 360 degree turns that bring you nowhere.
Hmmm….I think it does make some sense afterall, though not in a negative way. Here are my own reasons:
Sometimes, when we are going through tough times, we feel that the season is exceptionally long. However, when we look back, it seems like it was only a short while afterall.
We hate the moulding parts of our walk but we love the thrill when God whispers to us in our pain or when we have a sudden revelation when reading His word.
Our walk with God seems to take us through different seasons and different places but we always end up at the same place-the fundamental truths about God. Sometimes as we progress in our ministry, we forget that the most important thing is not to strive or to achieve and God will always break us and bring us back to the basics- we are children of God and we love Him because He first loves us. Our walk with God does not hinge on how much we do but who we are in Him.
If you know me well, I have a serious fear of heights. And I think my last roller coaster ride was like so many years ago! So, to be honest, I was really scared yet I wanted a challenge. Sounds familiar? So I went on this roller-coaster, with the band leader, Pamela, sitting next to me. This roller-coaster has 360-degree turns and every time it turned, I wondered why I am on the ride.
It was quite hilarious actually. Pamela was screaming and shouting “Halleluiah!” (for no reason) and I was like, “God!!”. So we sounded like two Christian fanatics throughout the ride.
I was just thinking, many Christians often liken their relationship with God as one roller-coaster ride. This means that their relationship is a tumultuous one; sometimes, you are on a high and sometimes, you are on a low. But what exactly are the characteristics of a roller-coaster ride?
It’s short though it seems long at that time.
You hate it but you love the thrill.
It seems to be going everywhere but you always end up at the same place.
It has highs and lows and 360 degree turns that bring you nowhere.
Hmmm….I think it does make some sense afterall, though not in a negative way. Here are my own reasons:
Sometimes, when we are going through tough times, we feel that the season is exceptionally long. However, when we look back, it seems like it was only a short while afterall.
We hate the moulding parts of our walk but we love the thrill when God whispers to us in our pain or when we have a sudden revelation when reading His word.
Our walk with God seems to take us through different seasons and different places but we always end up at the same place-the fundamental truths about God. Sometimes as we progress in our ministry, we forget that the most important thing is not to strive or to achieve and God will always break us and bring us back to the basics- we are children of God and we love Him because He first loves us. Our walk with God does not hinge on how much we do but who we are in Him.
We do have highs and lows in our relationship with God. But the ‘lows’ are not bad in themselves but they bring us closer to God and are instrumental in our development. Without the valleys, we can never see how high the mountains are. Sometimes, we feel that we are on the verge of breakthroughs only to discover that we are at the same place like the 360 degree turns. But perhaps, God is leading us through the wilderness- because we are to learn desperation and thus, complete dependence on God.
Is your life like a roller-coaster ride today? Perhaps, we should sit back and enjoy the ride because God is teaching us through every turn, every high, every low.
Love, Sis Lee Min
12:43 AM
(SALVATION)
