This month’s guest blog is a breath of fresh air! Maezie Inman is a teen on fire for God; her faith is bold and inspiring. I’ve gotten to know Maezie over the last two years, and I’ve been able to see glimpses of her Ferris Wheel journey with God. She has overcome much through victory in Jesus; she speaks from experience and relationship with her Heavenly Father. Her words overflow with truth and are written in love. I pray they help you to find where you are in relation to God today, and that they move you closer to Him. 

❤

“Ferris Wheel of Faith” by Maezie Inman

Rides taken with the Redeemer always end in victory, despite each view your eye sees as you pass through points of highs, lows, and middles. The ferris wheel has always been and will always be my favorite ride. There’s something about being that high up in the sky that gets me every time. Although, some are complete opposites; they’re scared half to death. And yes… I am one of those mean people who purposefully shake the cart when stopped at the very top. It didn’t always used to be that way. I was always sure the control guy was out to get me by stopping when I was the highest. Constant complaining of where I was stopped, how long the ride lasted, what I saw below, and how fast or slow was all I ever knew. Clinging to control, striving for earthly success, and stuck in the stubbornness of MY WAY ONLY was false protection that brought me into much brokenness.

Sometimes I want to stop when God says go and go when God says stop. But one thing I have learned is to not get sassy with the Savior, because He is supreme and just maybe even smarter than me. The thing is, God has the authority of when you stop and when you go. God only knows what cart your going to sit in, how long, and what will occur on the ride He’s planned for YOU. It’s not a surprise; it’s predestined and part of His will. We don’t get to tell Him how it’s going to go simply because of our limited earthly standards, whereas He is bound by nothing and no thing. He is in charge of the controls. You don’t get to spin your wheel. This is not the wheel of fortune. It may feel like your riding round and round, just going through the motions. Like why can’t I break out of this circular pattern already?! But it’s important to remember that He is not your Vanna, and one of the ways He shows this is through manna.

I bet you the Israelites felt the same feeling when they received fresh manna on their front lawn every single day. They lost the spiritual importance of where their fulfillment came. The bread of heaven God steadily supplied them with for forty years became dull as they caught on to the foreigners whining, and realized meat was the ‘better’ option. Numbers 11:4 and 6 says, “One day some worthless foreigners among the Israelites became greedy for food, and even the Israelites began moaning ‘We don’t have any meat! … we’re starving out here, and the only food we have is this manna.'” There are about forty to fifty some other carts on the wheel. Are you going to listen to the foreigners in your circle who focus on failures and faults, or the faith-based who focus on going forwards? You have to choose the right passengers to ride with on your journey of life. God wasn’t gypping the Israelites out of fullness. He knew that the manna gave them the strength and stamina they needed to continue on. They were getting sick of what made them stronger because their focus wasn’t on true fulfillment.

You might be sick of your ride. But the thing to remember is you were never meant to just go through the motions of constant mess, manipulation, and mundane meaninglessness. You’re to enjoy the ride with the Messiah, and embrace the mystery of His glorious being. There’s something new and afresh you could learn and grow from each time around. Still many enter the mindset of, “If only I was quicker, more productive, and didn’t make so many mistakes, then I wouldn’t be hitting these low points.” But God is not a God of up high, to the side, to the other side, down low, too slow. NO WAY! God loves you when you’re up high. God loves you when you’re to the side. God loves you when you’re to the other side. God loves you when you’re down low. You did nothing wrong to get to this point. Or maybe you did, I don’t know. But what I do know is it’s part of the process to get you around again, so when you do you’ll have a new perspective and a renewed strength. He does not play that game. He never takes His hand away to trick you. His arm is always outstretched because we are to take this ride with Him. He is in our cart.

In order to bring the process into a full circle, you first have to go through the start of the circle. You can’t just automatically get to the top of the wheel. It starts by getting in a cart and embracing the possibilities of the ride through accepting the Savior and acknowledging His presence. Then and only then can you start the process of going around, while holding onto the promise of Philippians 1:6 – “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

In the Bible a circle can represent wholeness. Mark 3:34 says, “Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!” Jesus says this while teaching a group of people. It is His reply after being approached by a crowd member who said His mother and brothers had only just arrived. These men and women were seated in a circle around Jesus. Their specific seating arrangement got me thinking about our hearts being mended into wholeness through who we are in Him and His words.

We see a circle in the form of a process again when God tells David in 1 Chronicles 14:14, “Do not directly go after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the poplar trees.” Sometimes the direct approach in formation doesn’t work. David had to complete a circle before attacking his enemies. Just going straight would have derailed God’s plan of victory. His trust in God had to have been in full as He took the route around the circle. I believe God put the enemies, the path, and the trees in an ordained spot just so David would have to travel in that circle. Why? Simply to form his trust even stronger. Just as we need to be formed into the best trusting versions of ourselves we can be.

A circle can also represent protection, as shown in Psalm 34:7. David says, “God’s angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray.” It can be very terrifying at the tip top of the wheel, but maybe even more so at the bottom. When you reach those low points closest to the world around you, voices coming every which direction, vulnerability is at its strong point. Every which way you turn, the enemy’s taunts and strategies are lurking. It could be pride, thoughts of being unqualified, and fear of harm at the top. Maybe it’s negativity and loss of zest for life at the bottom. Or it’s doubtfulness, temptation, and impatience on the sides. It’s evident that the enemy is trying but it’s also evident that God’s power has already won. You can be provoked at any point on the wheel, but His protection, power, and promises already have full authority through prayer. “It’s safer at the bottom” isn’t always true. Anywhere you are without Jesus is unsafe. If you have accepted Him, you have full guarantee of a circle of constant protection.

This also leads to the topic of, “No way will I ever get on one of those things, that’s too high.” You were not meant to live a life of constant comfort, but to take chances. Ultimately what can go wrong when taking risks with God? If you struggle with fear, insecurity, and lack of confidence you’ll most likely be “okay” with the bottom. Why choose to stay there when the best view is at the top? He will bring you high to show you His glory, faithfulness, and beauty. But you can also become fully comfortable at the top, which is also not good. This is where reliance on yourself, unreceptiveness, and pride kick in. Those things in themselves will bring you way down. Once you’re at the bottom of the wheel He is able to help you better rely on Him, open up possibilities, and humble you. It’s such a beautiful circle.

Another part of your safety is to stay hooked to the belt buckle on the cart of the ferris wheel. If you fall out or try to jump off the world will engulf you with lies, and you will land flat on the pavement with a broken heart and soul. This is why it’s important to always keep that belt buckle of truth clasped tight. In Ephesians 6:14 Paul says to “Stand firm with the belt buckle of truth around your waist.” I find it pretty cool that this is the first piece of the armor of God Paul tells us to put on. He is stressing the importance of God’s truth, for that is what keeps us secure. Staying fixed and fastened keeps us firm when dysfunction sets in.

It’s also important to realize everyone’s journey around is different. Each wheel can have a different height, radius, time of rotation, and turn clockwise or counterclockwise. It depends upon the design. Job says in 33:4, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” God’s breath is full of distinct creativity and precise uniqueness, and we are results of that. Out of the 7 billion people on this earth, He created a special detail-packed ride for each human being. God’s inventiveness, originality, and innovation of individuality precedes our comprehension. If you can only begin to grasp the wonderful work of the Creator you will never pass up the ride He created for you to take with Him.

I always wonder what’s going on inside God’s brain when forming each person. Since He is the ultimate Creator and we are made in His likeness, we each have a special part of God’s distinct creativity built into us. We just have to be willing to seek it out through asking Him what it means personally. God’s spectacular ideas were laid before the foundations of the earth. It’s always been a part of His being to beautify things. Google says that “George W. Ferris, a bridge builder, came up with the concept of the Ferris Wheel and sketched it on a napkin at an Engineer’s Banquet in 1891.” What started as an idea on a napkin became nationwide. Now we get to enjoy and celebrate what George Ferris has made, just as we celebrate what God has made. Psalm 96:11-12 says, “Let heaven celebrate! Let the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it roar! Let the countryside and everything in it celebrate! Then all the trees of the forest too will shout out joyfully.” We have the privilege to celebrate all of God’s creation with Him, glorify His name, and enjoy our God-breathed ride.