I recently took my bicycle to the shop for new tires. The threads in the sidewalls were fraying and I’ve had two flats in the last couple weeks. While he had the bike up on the rack, the repairman spun the tires and noticed a wobble in the wheels that made the tires rub the brakes a little. He tightened a few spokes and made some adjustments to balance the wheels. He got the wobble out.
A wobble can slow you down because the back and forth motion absorbs energy. I have noticed that when I am laboring up a steep hill, the bike will wobble if I don’t keep up my speed. Pedaling harder reduces the wobble.
Those of you who are parents probably remember how wobbly our kids were when they first rode a bicycle. That first time we probably ran alongside our child, keeping one hand on the bike. Usually we yelled, “Pedal! Keep pedaling!” We knew that pedaling was the key to not wobbling or falling over.
Both new and old Christians can struggle with wobbles. With some new Christians, it seems that we are forever running alongside them yelling, “Pedal. Read your Bible, pray, and worship! Please pedal!” Often new Christians wobble because they are trying to coast up the hills.
For new Christians who are less passive and more passionate, the wobbles come from bouncing back and forth between spiritual fads or doctrines. They may wobble between diligently seeking God through prayer, study, and service and resting completely in the grace God has given. All the wobbling slows their progress and exhausts their spiritual energy.
Older Christians can wobble on the hills if they don’t pedal hard enough. There are times when we must pedal through or over obstacles: times when more prayer and faith will mean less wobbling. I have asked God to take the wobble out of my ride with Him: to tighten my spokes and balance my tires so there is no friction slowing my progress. I go further faster if instead of coasting, I shift and pedal even going downhill. I need to seek God hard in times of prosperity as well as adversity.
A friend of mine rides a recumbent trike. He says the stability offered by the three wheels eliminates the wobble while pumping up a hill. I suppose we could make some point about the trinity and how the ministry of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit combine to stabilize us and propel into God’s calling and holy purpose. But let’s not.
