Monday, October 22, 2012

Are you a Horse???



I've never been a big horse lover. But I do love a good comparison.

In youth group the other night, a great comparison was revealed to me. We were talking about Ephesians 4:6~

One God is and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

At this point in the lesson, we were discussing God's authority (the first part of this verse) . Our teacher used the illustration of a horse and its trainer. At first, a horse is naive and does not trust its trainer. If the trainer prompts the horse to trod through a puddle, the horse may act as if the puddle is a black hole; but the trainer knows that the puddle is harmless. Eventually, the horse learns that his trainer knows much, much more than he does. A fully trained horse listens to his trainer very carefully, because he trusts the trainer. All it takes is a slight tap of the trainer's heel on the side of the horse to persuade the horse to take a sharp turn; an inconspicuous tug of the ring finger on the horse's bridle will convince it to take a complete 360.

James 3:3~
Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.



So, what does this all have to do with us and our relationship to God? Well, apply all these facts about horses and trainers to you and God. When you are first saved, yo may not trust God very much, and there still may be doubts in your mind. Maybe when God first prompted you to do something, you saw it the end of the world; but God knows that it is harmless and will probably be good for you. As you grow in your walk with God, however, you learn that God really does know what He's doing! When your relationship with God matures, it should only take a slight tap or tug at your heart to obey God.

But Eph. 4:6 doesn't just talk about God's authority; it also mentions God's work through us and in us. God does not just want us to view him as a tall judge robed in white up in the sky somewhere. He desires a personal relationship with us, and that relationship includes His working through us and His Spirit dwelling in us. God works through us in our words and actions, and when we obey and yield to His Word, magnificent events occur. His Spirit dwells in us to guide us and shine through us, as long as we surrender to Him.

For more about surrender, visit these posts:



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