"Carousel"

Life moves at a gallop,

Or at least a lope,

But in all the hurry,

People lose their hope,

That anything can happen,

That brings a needed change,

Stuck in ruts and habits,

It all remains the same.

So ask me if the answer,

Can anywhere be found,

And I will tell you plainly,

Each time you come around,

On this old worldly carousel,

With horses painted fake,

That you can get right off it,

With a step of faith you take.

That old thing is going nowhere,

Just rotation with some noise,

Bu the Good Lord wants you mounted,

With some of His cowboys,

Who know what you are after,

‘Cause they have been there, too,

Staying spelled disaster,

And that’s the truth they knew.

And Jesus interrupted,

Both the habits and the pain,

And said let’s ride together,

You’ll find eternal gain.

Choose today, you won’t be sorry,

When you step up and say,

It’s Jesus now and ever,

Starting now, right here today.

Good-bye to fake, old horses,

And the circle of repeats,

Hello to God’s adventure,

That will solve all our defeats.

“Then He said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.’” (Luke9:23-24, NLT).

Following Jesus is a specific, personal, intentional choice that is made once and for all, but then renewed daily. It’s all about surrendering control to Jesus as the Lord of our lives, and dying to ourselves. If we hang on, we lose. If we let go, we win. It’s just that simple. It’s not unlike trading in a carousel horse for a real one. We may think we’re in control but we’re really riding a merry-go-round that’s going nowhere. Handing Jesus the reins of our lives is the only way to go!

Lord, help us surrender control to You, in Jesus’. name.

Art by R.S. Riddick, used by permission. Thanks, and God bless.