Oh, if I could, I would still love to go horseback riding!
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and although it’s been well over four decades since I sat a horse, I can still feel my feet in the stirrups, my legs pressing the sides of my saddle, and even how I used to grip the reins. Back when I was a teenager, I used to jump horses in different horse shows along the east coast. I had this big thoroughbred that I named St. Augustine (I used to call him Augie for short) and this horse loved to jump fences no matter how high they were, no matter how complicated the course of hurdles in the show ring. All I had to do was tighten my knees, aim his head toward the fence, help him pace himself and then—whoosh over the fence we’d go! Then I’d angle his head toward the next hurdle, then the next. Augie and I would wind our way through a complicated maze of hurdles and almost never did that horse shy away from a jump at the last second.
Augie and I had a great relationship. I knew that he trusted me as I held his reins. He knew when I would give him just enough slack and he trusted me with how high those jumps were. It was the joy of that horse to do my will. It didn’t matter whether or not he understood the course that was laid out before him. He showed no concern, he didn’t ask questions over how hard those stone walls were, or how high or wide the fences appeared; he just loved to jump. And because he trusted my judgment, he loved to do my will.
You know, for us humans, the paths of life set before us often seems like a confusing maze of difficult and often painful fences we are expected to hurdle. The more perplexing the pattern grows and the more demanding the discipline becomes, the more we are tempted to doubt the wisdom of the One who is holding the reins in our life. We feel like disobeying God and avoiding what He asks of us.
The apostle Peter knew about this when he wrote his first epistle to believers who were suffering greatly under the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. These believers probably felt as though God were asking way too much of them and I'm sure many of them doubted God's wisdom when they saw how much persecution and suffering lay ahead: how could God expect them to hurdle such obstacles to their faith?! Well, Peter gives them some pretty good advice in First Peter 4:19 when he said, "Those who suffer according to God's will [now get this] should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." There you have it. To commit yourself to your faithful Creator is to trust God. To continue to do good in the face of difficulties is to obey Him. According to Peter, you and I couldn't find a better summary of what God expects of us when the hurdles seem overwhelming and the pattern of life doesn't make sense: He simply asks us to trust and obey.
You know, come to think about it, my horse's response to me did not hinge on his approval of the course set before him. What counted was he knew me. And when it comes to your own suffering, what counts for you is that you know God—you know how trustworthy He is. And you can have every confidence in His wisdom. He'll never ask more of you than what His grace will supply.
So please do not doubt God about the perplexing pattern ahead in your life. Don't fret over those hurdles you need to overcome. God is on the saddle. He’s the one holding the reins. He knows the pattern; He knows the hurdles. And He's got more than enough wisdom to see you through to the end.
© Joni and Friends
Used by permission of Joni and Friends
P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA 91376