Written by Dynamis Ministries | May 8, 2025
When did you first learn to ride a bike? If that’s a life skill you’ve chosen to master, chances are, you learned with the help of training wheels. Among other techniques, training wheels represent an amazing invention that helped solve a real problem. The bike brand Huffy originated this invention back in 1949. The problem was that children fell off their bicycles because they couldn’t balance. Training wheels increased the base of support, making it easier for kids to stay upright while pedaling their bikes. Smoothing out the learning process propelled kids into the joys of biking.
Fast forward to today, there’s a new method of teaching kids to ride a bike—the balance bike. A balance bike is a small bike that a child can sit on while still keeping their feet in contact with the ground. A key difference is that the balance bike lacks pedals. So, for a child to maneuver their bike this way, they must use their feet. This tiny modification to the bicycle teaches a child the biggest sticking point of riding a bike—balance—before incorporating the element of pedaling. The result is that children often learn to ride a bike more quickly and at a younger age.
This change in approach to teaching kids how to ride a two-wheeled bicycle is used in Adam Alter’s book, Anatomy of a Breakthrough, as an example of how we can emerge from times when we feel stuck. For years, experts looked at the problem of children struggling to balance on a bike and tried to solve it by adding elements to the traditional bicycle. However, the balance bike provided a more effective solution by subtracting key elements from the traditional bicycle. This change in approach may seem minor, but it can be revolutionary to us when we feel stuck.
Feeling stuck is a universal experience. We all encounter it in one way or another at any given time. Sometimes, it involves being in a dead-end job. Other times, it manifests as a creative block. We might find ourselves stuck on a fitness plateau as well. And yes, we can even feel stuck in our faith journey. Signs of feeling stuck in our faith journey might involve “going through the motions” in our spiritual practices, repeating the same harmful cycles or experiencing a dryness in our soul. If you’re feeling stuck in your faith walk in any way today, don’t be discouraged. Often, these times serve to facilitate transformation, a breakthrough!
When we’re stuck, God remains faithful, right beside us, and eager to renew our faith. Our solution is usually to add more to what we’re already doing to emerge from it. In the case of our spiritual formation, we may reason that we need to put more hours into service, pray longer or read more Bible verses. Maybe, but maybe not. What if the way to get unstuck lies in simplifying what we’re already doing?
Instead of using more words in prayer, trust that God already knows what you’re going to say before a word is on your tongue and adopt a listening posture. Rather than reading more chapters of the Bible, focus on the meaning of a few, even memorizing them or practicing Lectio Divina. Rather than signing up for more shifts in serving, look for how the Spirit prompts you to love and transform people in your current rhythm. Give simplification a try with an inventive mind. It just might renew your spiritual journey and catalyze your faith again!
