The Ride of Your Life – Jim Fowler

God’s path or trajectory for our lives is seldom “smooth sailing on the serene seas of life.” On the contrary, it is often a bumpy ride; it is a path often strewn with land mines and a myriad of unseen obstacles and detours. Many people seem to think that life should be “as straight as an arrow” and “as smooth as glass,” but such absence of friction, elevation changes, and sharp turns does not serve God’s purposes for His saints living in the evil world system and therein being sustained by His grace. The anomalies of the unexpected are used by God to teach us to “hang on for the ride” and trust His grace for the heart-thumping, head-banging “ride of your life.”

It may seem that the carriage of our life is careening out of control, but we can be sure that God has it under His control. You may have paid your money and chosen to ride the radical roller-coaster at the amusement park, but life itself can be far more adventurous, and it is free-of-charge. Sometimes when we are jolted to a temporary stop, unable to proceed by our own power, we might ask, “What did I do to deserve this?” Nothing! Life is not about what we deserve or do not deserve. Life is one big opportunity to observe God at work, providentially plotting the course of our life and providing His provision of grace for every difficulty we might encounter.

When we observe people riding the adventure rides at Disneyland, they are screeching, screaming, and seemingly enjoying the terror of the unexpected turns and drops, but when people face the uncertainty of “the ride of their life,” they often moan and groan, and complain about their disruptive circumstances. It is not a “joyride,” but perceived as a miserable ordeal over which we have little control. Yes, we are to “count it all joy when we encounter various trials” (James 1:2), but the joy is not in the bumps and grinds of life’s circumstances, but in the One in Whom we derive our real JOY despite the unexpected ups and downs, in the living Lord Jesus Christ.

Jim Fowler is a cherished and respected friend of Plain Truth Ministries, a wonderful brother in Christ, having served in a variety of capacities, on our Board of Directors, as a theological consultant and as an author and editor.  He continues to write, with his latest being “Manifesting the Life of Jesus” available on Amazon.  Jim is a treasure to the body of Christ, a Christ follower who faithfully reflects God’s grace in Jesus, as our risen Lord lives his life within him.