I once owned a horse that could do the most amazing things!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and when I was on my feet I owned a horse named St. Augustine – I can’t believe I named him that; I was only 14 years old. Back then, I don’t even think I knew who St. Augustine was! I must have read it somewhere and I thought it really fit my horse. But I called this horse Augie for short.
Anyway, back to my horse, St. Augustine, or Augie. For an entire summer, that horse and I cleaned up ribbons at all the horse shows in Maryland. The amazing thing about him was this horse’s ability to jump those big triple bar fences and rock walls. When we weren’t doing summer horse shows, I had him on the trails of the state park that bordered our farm. As we came up upon fallen trees on the trail or a wooden fence lining the property of a neighboring farm, I could ask Augie to sail over hurdle after hurdle, all the while keeping a steady gallop. This horse was trained for endurance. That was during the summer. When I returned to school in the fall, I put Augie out to pasture.
I remember when, after a couple of months or so, and before it got icy cold, I saddled him up for one more joyride in early December before the first snows came. After three fences and less than half a mile, that horse was hanging his head low and wheezing. I asked him for more, but it just wasn't there. His head drooped and his pace slowed. In short, my horse was out of training.
Now, I occasionally think of Augie when I come up against a high hurdle in my life and I seem to have no resources. Or when I come up against a temptation and find that I have no strength to say "no." The Holy Spirit keeps asking for more and, well… it just isn’t there. He asks me to keep in step with Him, but my pace has slowed. I lag behind when it comes to obedience and when those times happen (and I know when they do happen) I really shouldn't be surprised because it’s clear to me I've been out of training. I have no endurance.
We are all the same. As Christians, we fiddle and faddle, meandering through life, ignoring spiritual disciplines like fasting, praying, or regular Bible reading. We’re not regular at Sunday services, and we’ve all but stopped witnessing, and then, all of a sudden when temptation broadsides us, or we get hit with a heavy trial, we wonder why we lack faith, we wonder why we feel God's not being fair, we wonder why we don’t have the power to say “no” to temptation, or that we succumb easily to discouragement or depression. Oh, then we plead for help from God, but sometimes it's just not there. There’s no power, or at least it seems so. And when God doesn’t seem ready on hand to lift us up out of the miry pit, we fume that His grace really isn't sufficient or that He's abandoned us.
Has that happened to you lately? If so, then you need to join me in printing a short little verse on a 3x5 card and putting it on your bathroom mirror or your kitchen window. The verse is 1 Timothy 4:7 and it says short and sweet, “...train yourself to be godly.”
Friend, God hasn’t abandoned you… Oh, He may let you squirm a bit if you’ve been taking His graces for granted; but He’s not abandoned you. The strength isn't there because we're out of training. We can't expect to exhibit godliness - especially at the snap of a finger when temptation strikes - if we've been out of training. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 says, “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith.” Pursue! There you have it. Fight, okay? Take hold! In other words, stay in training.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends