our "safety" that brings us to safety

I had a dream the other night. I was riding a 4-wheeler... like this one I grew up riding as a kid. (I know. This photo is ridiculous. Sorry I'm not sorry.)

So in my dream I was driving on sand, but instead of the familiar flat terrain of Texas, I was trekking straight up an incredibly steep mountain. The sand made it quite difficult to gain traction. And what made it even more difficult was that I had four of my friends on the back of the 4-wheeler, hanging on to me for dear life.

I had to use every ounce of strength I had to hold on.

The key to this "dream 4-wheeler" was like the key on a seadoo - you place the end that starts the engine over a knob of sorts, and secure the other end to your lifejacket. That way if you fall off, the knob part pops off and cuts the engine. So in this way, the key acts as a "safety."

But in my dream, I forgot to attach the key to myself. And when we came to the longest, steepest stretch, I couldn't hold on. We all slipped off, and the 4-wheeler went on without us for a moment... and then came crashing down.

I braced myself for impact. And then I woke up.

I feel like this dream is a metaphor for life. When we find ourselves attempting to scale mountains - steep and sandy - if we haven't attached our "key" in a manner in which it can act as a "safety," if - or rather, when - we fall, it's not going to end well.

God has given us this incredible gift of life, but He has not guaranteed it will be easy. We will face trials. We will face obstacles. We will face mountains with steep and sandy terrain.

And while we aren't guaranteed there won't be mountains, we are guaranteed this: the Lord will be our "key" and He will be our "safety" - if we attached ourselves to Him. 

He won't allow us more than we can handle. We may fall, but He will be there to "cut the engine," to save us from being crushed.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair." - 2 Corinthians 4:8

Let's not rely on our own strength to traverse mountains. We can't do it on our own. We can't bring our friends with us. He have to allow Christ to pull us, to carry us, and ultimately, to save us.

But we must first attach ourselves to Him - to seek Him, to rely on Him, to trust Him.

"He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered." - Proverbs 28:26

He will be our "safety" that brings us to safety - even when we fall.

"The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom." - 2 Timothy 4:8