“SLIPPING THE RESTRAINS OF BURDENS” – Sept. 16

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion”, says my soul, therefore I will hope in him.”  Lamentations 3:21-24

Craigslist facilitated the purchase of my dream bike, a Cervelo tri-bike, otherwise known as a time-trial bike.

I have had my eye on this bicycle since my decision to start training for a triathlon.  This is the style of bike that all the really serious triathletes ride.  This bike style is popular because drafting is not allowed in most triathlons.

Aside from a rider’s own mass, air is the greatest yoke of a cyclist.  I am always amazed at the effect of just a slight head-wind.  The smallest of breezes in your face can feel like a burden of pounds being added to your load.  There has been many an occasion where I turned a corner and was accosted by a bully of a head-wind that stole my speed as if it were lunch money.

The vanquishing of the head-wind bully is the promise of the Cervelo P2.

English: Simon Lessing in the bike portion of a triathlon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cervelo has designed a bicycle with the primary purpose of slicing through air.  Every aspect of the bike is shaped to ease the grip of air as it flows around the frame.  However, the most effective design element is what the bike does to the rider.  A tri-bike puts the rider in the most aerodynamic of positions; bent over, elbows in, and pushed forward over the front wheel.

My Cervelo does its job very well.  I easily gained about 2 mph by riding my Cervelo rather than my road bike.  However, my experience has not been what I had expected.  I have watched triathletes ride their tri-bikes and they make it look so easy.  They seem to comfortably slice through the wind.

The first time I took my Cervelo out for a ride, I realized that going faster does not equate to comfort.  This bike is very aggressive and stiff.  While that is great for transferring energy from legs to wheels, it is also equally effective at transferring jolts and vibrations from asphalt to skull.  The only really comfortable position comes by acquiescing to the frame and staying bent down onto the aero-bars.  This keeps your head down and in the best position to efficiently slip the yoke of the wind but it is not comfortable.

Appreciating the scenery is not part of the tri-bike experience.  Leisurely pedaling through the country side is not why you would buy this type of bicycle.  I have found that easing my Cervelo onto the road is a good way to ruin a nice bike ride.

However, it is the perfect bike to cast off the burdens of riding.

I think that we all have a tendency to want a life that is the equivalent of a nice, leisurely, ride through the country side.  I often revert to a mentality that assumes that the Holy Spirit was given to me to make my ride through life more comfortable.  I have been stunned when the discomfort of life’s burdens have weighed me down and ground me to a halt.

It seems to me that the Holy Spirit is more like a tri-bike than a comfort bike.

Obedience to the Spirit forces us into positions that are the most effective at slipping the burdens of this world.  However, that does not mean that they are easy or comfortable.  The last thing we should do when yoked with the cares of this world is to sit up and seek our comfort.  Those are times that we need to lean into our Lord, feel the power that comes being on our knees, knowing every jolt and vibration are burdens passing by us, and trust the Spirit to carry us through.

We all have burdens of different kinds.  We can try to stand under the weight of such a yoke and be stunned that the Spirit would allow such a thing or we can acquiesce to the mindset of the Spirit and allow Him to carry us through it.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for the gift of your Spirit.  Thank you for giving me all that I need to overcome the burdens of this world.  Help me to REMEMBER that my comfort does not come from this world.  Help me to TRUST You when I feel burdened and weighed down.  Help to to LEAN into You when all I want to do is pull away.  Lord, KEEP me in the position of obedience through all my days.  Your steadfast love never ceases; your mercies never come to an end; they are new to me every morning; great is your faithfulness.  Lord, you are my portion; I don’t need anything else, therefore I will HOPE in You alone.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“CLIMBING METHODS” – August 5

“These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.  If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 2:23-3:2

I completed the 4 Summit Challenge.  It was not what I had expected.  This past summer my friends and I have been ride everything with a vertical grade to prepare us for this challenge.  I felt confident in my level of fitness to complete the ride.  However, that confidence was quickly consumed at the base of the vertiginous second summit.

I was riding with a friend as we began our ascent but we soon separated into our little worlds of endurance as we sought our individual climbing cadence.  I knew early on that this was going to be a new and unpleasant experience.  I had already surrendered into my lowest gear when I caught a glimpse of the road miles ahead.  The road crossed from one side of the mountain to the other and then gouged itself upward in the form of three switch-backs.  It was like my own personal l’alpe d’huez.

Miles of unrelenting slope were ahead of me, without the relief of a lower gear.  Therefore, I had to grind it out.  The resistance of the mountain was too great for me to keep a high cadence on my pedal stroke.  So, every turn of the pedal required more power than I wanted to expend.  My muscles burned from the constant tension on the pedal.  My heart pounded against the pride of falling below 5 mph.  The sweat poured off of me as I struggled to keep cycling in a straight line.

It was a rather pathetic display.  A display that was made more irritating by other cyclists passing me while carrying on a conversation.  I was not capable of conversation.  How could these freaks be talking so calmly while I am gasping for every ounce of oxygen I can suck through the gaping hole that was my mouth?

Cassette Replacement 020 (Photo credit: QuietDangst)

The answer to that question came over the following days.  A friend had stopped in a bike shop after the 4 Summit Challenge and had discussed our struggles on that day.  The owner commiserated with our plight and explained that he always changed out his gear cassette for that climb.  He recommended that we use a 12-30 gear cassette.  The numbers refer to the amount of teeth on each gear.  The more teeth a gear has the easier it is to push on a climb.

That bike shop owner had stated something that I knew but had not occurred to me.  The cassette on my bike is 11-21.  The difference between 21 teeth and 30 may not sound like much but it is a huge difference.  It would have allowed my ascent to have included conversation and an appreciation of the view rather than a miserable grind that tempted me to quit.

I see a lot of folks grinding through their Christian existence.  Like many, I have ground through my faith trying to climb a virtuous ascent to holiness.  I have employed all sorts of aids.  I know the grind of self-discipline.  I know the temptation to follow the practices of mature believers and the wonder when I did not get same results from their method.  It all has the appearance of wisdom but I have found that these methods have not stopped the indulgence of my flesh.  The severity of self-imposed discipline can be so grinding that it has always made me want to quit after a period of time.

The virtuous ascent to holiness always reveals our method.

We cannot gracefully ascend in obedience when we are relying upon our self-discipline.  One can grind it out for a while but it will be miserable.  Those who make the Christian life look easy have learned how to ascend in joy by setting their minds on the things above, not on things that are on earth.  They know how to seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Ascending is all about having the right gear.

Effort has to be expended in every believer’s ascent but the right practice will make the difference between a pathetic display that few will want to emulate and an enjoyable, peaceful, glorifying, ascent to new heights.

I cannot control my flesh.  I have never been able to permanently grind it into submission.  However, I do control what I set my mind upon.  I end up doing what I want to do.  By setting my mind of the Spirit and the things above, the desires of my mind are changed by the Spirit.  I don’t need grinding self-discipline when my desires have changed.  I can allow myself to do what I love when my mind has the right gear.

Let’s set the only gear we need into place and seek our Lord.  Let’s ascend to new heights of holiness to the glory of God.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for giving us a path of obedience that can be joyful.  Forgive me for so often trying to follow You in my strength.  I can be so foolish in my thinking that all that appears to be wisdom will somehow work.  Thank you for giving me your Spirit to teach and guide me.  Teach me how to set my mind on you in all circumstances.  Help me to recognize when I am failing to set my mind on the things above.  Lord, you are so good to me.  Fill me with a joy in obedience that will be a pleasing fragrance to you.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.   Amen.