Just as a horse responds to the slight nudge of his rider, the Lord delights when his children yield obediently to his guidance. Be alert to God’s commands, and make it the joy of your heart to do his will!
Often on the way to work, I pass a horse show ring. And I love it!
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada. You know it seems on this program I’ve talked a lot about how much I love horses, right? Oh, I used to love horseback riding when I was on my feet and enjoyed many weekends taking my thoroughbred to horse shows around Maryland and Virginia. Well, that was decades ago, but I still love horses. And the other day I passed that show ring and pulled over to watch a woman exercise a big chestnut thoroughbred. They were all alone, just the two of them in that big ring: the horse slowly cantering with his head down; the rider holding him in check with the reins. This woman you could tell was a really good rider; I mean, she was great to watch. I mean, she’d just move one foot slightly forward, barely touching his shoulder, and the big horse would immediately switch his lead, stretching out his right foreleg. Then she’d move her other foot just a bit, and he’d switch to the other lead. She didn't have to use a crop or wear spurs. She didn't even pull on the reins. Her commands were almost imperceptible: a little tightening of the knees, a little nudging with the toe of her boot, perhaps a soft click with her tongue. And that big horse was alert to her commands, and he got the message every time.
Because of the two-way communication between horse and rider, this woman and her remarkable horse – they seemed to blend as one; it was so beautiful – like they had one will, one mind, one purpose. They looked indivisible. And oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could always be sensitive and alert to God's commands that way, responding to his promptings like that without any delay? You can tell from the Bible that God takes great delight in a horse, one of his most elegant creatures. In Job 39 it says, “Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.”
That’s a pretty good description of a horse, wouldn’t you say? And just like God takes great delight in a horse, he also takes great delight in us, especially when all it takes from him is a little pressure on us here or there in our lives, and almost imperceptibly, we respond, switching our lead. I don’t think there’s anything more lovely to God than a child with whom he shares one will, one mind, one purpose – to be holy as he is holy. God wants us to be so at one with him that we appear indivisible with our Savior, having his mind and purpose. I will admit it is not easy, and the Bible says “train yourself in all godliness,” and it says it for a good reason. ’Cause we human beings – we’re so much worse than horses. The book of Isaiah says that a donkey knows his master’s manger; and an ox, his stall, but my people, says the Lord, do not understand me. Oh my goodness, we humans are such a headstrong bunch! And we need the kind of horsey obedience I saw in the show ring the other morning. But that takes training. It takes submission to the pressure that he places on our lives; it takes yielding to the crop; it takes surrendering to the will of someone who is much, much wiser than we are.
First Timothy 4 says, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Today, make it the joy of your heart to do God's will. Be alert to God’s commands, and you will get his message.
© Joni and Friends