Coasting
2 Corinthians 3:7-10
One thing you start to notice as you leave Florida and head north is the hills.
I love the way the landscape rolls and rises—it’s beautiful to look at. But driving down them? No thanks!
There’s something a little unsettling about going downhill and feeling the pull of gravity, the car gaining speed beneath you.
In many ways, our walk with God can feel the same. When the road is straight and flat—it feels safe. And even though it’s hard, we don’t mind climbing those spiritual hills towards the mountaintops moments with God.
Although the struggle can be exhausting, there’s something oddly comforting about the effort—about feeling the tension and knowing we’re moving forward. Once we reach the mountaintop, we feel some sort of accomplishment or victory.
But then comes the descent…because we can’t stay on the top of the mountain forever. And we do need rest. So we have to come down.
As we descend, one choice is to drag our feet and try and resist the free flowing power of gravity. This choice makes it all about self: what we can control and manipulate. What we find comforting.
A second choice is we can lean into God and allow ourselves to coast. (Isaiah 40:31, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18) and glory can be shown.
The second choice, while obviously the right one, can feel a bit scary.
That’s because we don’t like the feeling of losing control. There’s something uncomfortable about the ease…about the letting go.
Yet I wonder if that’s exactly what God wants to teach us: that there’s beauty and joy in the coasting. The coasting that is illuminated with the glow of the encounter we just had with God. Psalm 37:5 says “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:”
Maybe God’s reminding us that we don’t always have to be striving—Maybe, after we have worked hard and enjoyed the climb, we can lean into the decent…..and like Moses, be filled with the holiness and true presence of God - powerfully reflecting the very essence of God for everyone to see. (Exodus 34:29-35).
Happy Coasting!
-Kristin-