The Bottom Line
Don’t be deceived by lies
We can learn a lot from horses. Have you heard someone say, “He’s got plenty of common horse sense”? If so, you know they’ve given that individual a compliment. Horses are herd animals, which means they always stick together. And there’s always a leader in the herd.
As believers in the Body of Christ (the Church), we need each other. We should stick together to help carry one another’s burdens. And we should follow Jesus and do everything He did. “I [Jesus] tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does (John 5:19).
The same God that created the horse also created the human. I can see definite similarities in the way a horse and rider relate and the way God and His children relate. A horse and rider must learn to trust each other, and the horse must learn to yield to his master’s commands. We believers need to trust God and yield our will to His. “Not everyone who calls out to Me, ’Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21). Jesus is our example, leader, and trainer and we need to be like Jesus. We should want His thoughts to be our thoughts, and His ways to become our ways.
When a trainer is teaching a horse a certain behavior, he applies and holds pressure to the horse until the animal responds with the appropriate behavior. Have you ever had God apply pressure to you in order to get you to do something? I have. When I yielded to what God was asking me to do, I obtained His peace.
Receiving peace from God when we obey Him changes us from glory to glory. When we like something we want more of it. Since trusting, yielding, and pleasing God results in peace, we should learn to obey Him right away — just like a horse yields to the rider because he wants release (or peace) from the pressure.
Sometimes we get confused and don’t realize where the pressure is coming from. The pressure may seem to be a result of our sin, stubborn pride, or foolish mistakes. This uncomfortable pressure may come to us in the form of depression, anger, anxiety, or guilt.
The devil is a master deceiver who whispers lies to us to try to keep us from seeing the truth. He wants us to focus on the problem instead of trusting Jesus our Savior. Christ Jesus has more than enough grace available for every need. He will help us be victorious even in our most-difficult situations. Absolutely nothing is impossible with God.
The Bottom Line: If you have pressure in your life, use common horse sense. Trust your all-wise and loving Heavenly Father and do what He wants you to do.
Pastor Jimmy Tucker
Diamond Community Church