If there’s one thing I’ve learned from growing up on a farm, I’ve learned to tell a good horse from a bad one. I remember the time my sister Jay and I went to a horse auction at the Baltimore livestock exchange not far from our farm.
We had heard that a nearby thoroughbred estate was relinquishing a lot of its stock and we thought it might be a great place to find a good horse at a nice price. We got there early and walked around the pens to examine the horses that were up for bid. I had my eye on a big red thoroughbred that nobody else seemed to be interested in.
Now my sister Jay and I didn’t want to appear too anxious in front of the seller. I walked up to the horse and I ran my hand down the shins of the horse to feel for any bumps. I stepped back, took a close look at his hooves to see if there were any cracks or splits. I picked up each hoof to see if the inside was healthy. Jay and I rubbed his ribs, felt his withers, looked at his teeth, lifted his tail, and then stepped back to assess his general condition. By the time we were through, we knew all that horse’s weak spots. And we knew exactly what he was worth. We prepared to offer the seller a realistic price; actually, a rather low bid. And if he didn’t like it, that’s where we’d point out every single one of that horse’s problems. We wanted as low a price as possible.
You know, whether for horses or humans, it’s a scary thing to have someone expose all your weak spots – flaws and defects have a way of either raising or lowering our value – the respect that others seem to have of us, right? It reminds me of something Corrie ten Boom once said. “The devil is like a good cattle dealer who walks once around a cow and then knows all his weak spots. He knows us and he knows exactly where he can hit us. The devil knows his time is short and so he will hit our weak spots hard. But Jesus is present and much stronger than the devil.”
Friend, please know that your adversary is going to look you over, up and down, left and right, this way and that. He is very interested in learning all about your weak spots. And once he is fully aware of your flaws and defects, be aware that the devil will hit you where it hurts time and again. He’ll try to get the lowest bid possible on you.
But remember what Corrie ten Boom said, that Jesus is present and much stronger than the devil. Because Jesus knows your weak spots, too – He knows ’em up and down, left and right, this way and that, and inside and out. And He is interested in your weak spots because He wants to show His magnificent power through them. No low bid on your life! When you were up for sale at the cross, Jesus paid the highest price imaginable. Remember, friend, you are worth your weight in weaknesses – when you look at them from God's point of view.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends