Back when I used to ride horses every day, there were so many principles I had to learn AND keep in mind. You probably can relate to that, no matter what your career or vocation is. There’s things you have to remember or everything falls apart.
My friend and I spent a lot of time starting colts. I absolutely loved it. Many of them came to the barn fresh and with a clean slate. I wish I could say that we never had ones with man-made problems but we sure did. It usually wasn’t long before we had them saddled and turned loose in the arena, but they still had to get used to wearing a saddle. Obviously, they aren’t born with a saddle on their back, but horses learn to accept it, just like they get used to their tales and manes.
The first ride could be fun. Sometimes my timing was good, other times I went for a ride. Even after wearing the saddle for a while and being used to having a rider on their back, horses can still get a little “goosey” and forget about the saddle being there. My friend taught me that it’s okay to give them moments to let things sink in, but not give them time to think about having a saddle on their back. Too much time to dwell is never good.
If I counted off on my fingers the number of times I let a horse take to bucking, it would be more than what is on my hands. When they got to bucking, I either had to try to disengage their hindquarters or keep them so busy running that they didn’t have time to think about bucking. It always worked, but you always knew when you missed your opportunity. You kinda get a taste for dirt like you get a taste for coffee.
Just kidding. It tasted more like manure.
“Forward movement” is what my friend would always tell me. “There is a time for sitting quiet and not doing much, but not right now. Do something with them. Give them a job to do.”
Those words have helped me a lot in life too. If you’re anything like me, I can overthink on so many things and double guess myself. I can get so wrapped up in what I ‘should have done’ or ‘shouldn’t have done,’ that I don’t pay attention to what I’m doing right now.
Ecclesiastes 7:16 says, “Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?”
Another friend of mine recently pointed out to me just how much overthinking can be harmful. You end up wallowing in an introspective puddle of self-pity and doing some very ridiculous things.
“Forward movement”
Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippian church, “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what is ahead.”
I believe one of the things that Satan loves to do is keep us wallowing in the past. Things happened that impacted us—bad and good, or maybe we made sinful choices that we regret. What better way to distract us and hinder us from doing God’s work than to stick us deep into the mud? Any of you who’s ever gotten your truck tires in the mud know what this looks like. Mud flies into the air, but nothing changes.
One of the things I love most about horses that every part of their lives is about forward movement. They can remember bad experiences, but they live in the present. They don’t get “deep in to the mud,” so-to-speak. Even how they eat is about forward movement. When they’re out in the pasture, they graze on the go.
Paul also writes in Philippians, “He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion”. And he comforted the Ephesians by writing, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them.”
God isn’t done with us.
Forward movement is possible in Christ. He gets our tires out of the mud and keeps working in our lives. In Christ, the impossible can change, and He’s worthy of our trust. We can move forward with joy
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