Do you remember the song “The Wheels on the Bus”? My elementary school children used to love to sing it. A day never seemed to pass when someone wouldn’t ask if we could sing it or they’d just start singing it to themselves at their desk quietly while they were working. I think the reason they enjoyed it so much was because it was interactive. There are motions for each verse of the song.
“The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round all through the town.” [You roll your arms around in a circle similar to a “traveling” call in basketball.]
We all like it when the wheels of life go round and round as expected, don’t we? What do you do when the wheels fall off the bus? When your expectations aren’t met, when a crisis arises, and when you’re left with no clue about what to do next? It happens. It happens to all of us from time to time no matter what we do to avoid it.
Let’s face it; we live in a chaotic world. Difficulties come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and they tend to weave in and out of our lives. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” There is a time when everything in life seems to go right, but there are also times when everything appears to be going wrong. It is during those times we can run to Jesus and crawl into His peace that surpasses understanding [Philippians 4:7]. Jesus promises us that His peace is very different from the peace the world offers us. In John 14:27 Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Does Jesus mean His peace takes all of our troubles away? Not exactly. The problems still exist, but our perspective becomes different when we rest in His peace. We go from hopeless to hopeful when we factor Jesus into the equation. Shelia Walsh puts it this way: “Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Jesus.”
Have the wheels on your bus ceased to go round and round? Have they fallen completely off? The good news is Jesus is ready, able and willing to step into your situation. When He comes, He brings His peace with Him. When we cast our worries and cares before Him, He will not only take care of them, but He will take care of us in the process [Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7]. If you’re stuck in a rut, forget calling AAA. Call on Jesus!