Repentence and Yielding

Psalm 32:9 says,"Don't be like a horse or mule that has no understanding, that has to be curbed with bit and bridle, or else it won't come near you."

Indeed, as much as I'll admit how beautiful a horse is and how peaceful it is to watch them graze or frolic, I will also be among the first to tell you that they are stupid. They, as the psalmist David puts it, 'have no understanding'. I will also tell you that the stupidest horse is one that is crazed with hormones. I have no stallion, so I have no horror stories of a sex-crazed male, but I have two mares that are obvious when they are in heat. My tennessee walker mare, Promise, will become downright mouthy when she's in heat and will bite like crazy. My back, shoulders, and arms are still bearing bruises from her last heat cycle as she always waits until I'm not looking to take sample taste of me. My haflinger, however, is not as young and impish, so her hormonal stupidity manifests in less childish (but no less troublesome) ways.

I was unaware that she had started a heat cycle when I suggested to my husband that we work on her training more. The last session, we introduced a bit that went into the mouth. Previously, we used a hackamore bit which doesn't go into the mouth, but directs the head by metal bars that push on the cheeks when you pull the reigns (it's a less invasive way to train a horse when they're nervous, but less effective in getting them controlled). Anyway, I put the bit and bridle on her, saddled her, and helped my husband mount. Immediately, Psalm began to smack her lips (her personal warning sign that she was upset). Daniel was on her a grand total of a minute before she simply sat down and rolled on him.

The next day, still in heat, she had thrown her halter off and I needed to get it back on (a halter for a horse is much like a collar for a dog...you will have no hope of controlling them or restraining them without it). Psalm saw me approaching and took off like a bullet, running circles around the paddock. She would stop about ten feet in front of me, I would approach with the halter and a treat, then she'd take off as soon as I touched her. Round and round, again and again we went. A few times, she'd square up her buttocks in front of me, prepping to give a kick. "Glue factory" I yelled at her. "Dog food!" I screamed as I dodged her attempts. After an hour or so, I got her halter back on and left the paddock until her heat cycle was over. Now she's back to her sweet self and my husband even took her for a ride last night.

My point in telling this story is that a horse is a ridiculously dumb beast with a very immature level of understanding. As powerful and beautiful and fun as they are, they need a master or else they are more of a danger than they are of a true use. The minute we accept Christ as our Lord, it's much like a horse accepting a rider. When Jesus is in our hearts, it's much like taking a bridle on our heads. Do not make it difficult for the Lord to catch you. Let Jesus reign and lead you. The Lord told me once,"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. You choose." Accepting Christ as our rider, can we submit ourselves to be controlled in gentle ways?

There are many gentle ways to lead a horse. You can move them off of leg pressure or even neck reign them (laying the reigns against the neck instead of pulling on them), and there are even verbal commands. A horse like that is usually not born able to receive commands like that; it requires a great deal of training....training from a patient and kind master.

"Perhaps you despise the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience; because you don't realize that God's kindness is intended to lead you to turn from your sins. But by your stubbornness, by your unrepentant heart, you are storing up anger for yourself on the Day of Anger, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed." -Romans 2:4&5

We will refrain from using a severe bit in our horses's mouths if and whenever possible. It's their choice. If they respond to our gentle leadings, they will avoid much discomfort. Either way, the quickest way for us to ruin them is to lose patience and act in anger. An unteachable horse is destined for the kill buyer (glue and dog food) as much as we are destined for God's anger and judgement when we are unteachable.

Respond to the kindness of God. Accept it. Submit to it. He is a good Master. He is also Lord, and one day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He indeed is so. So get it out of the way and yield to Him and His teaching now before you must be subjected to more rigid training tools....or worse, His judgement.