Thoroughbred Through and Through

Thoroughbred Through and Through

            On the farm where I ride, there’s a horse named Aussie.  As is typical of most thoroughbreds, Aussie can be pretty high-strung and difficult to manage sometimes, but he’s also one of the smartest horses I’ve ever met.  The things he can do… it’s pretty amazing.  He’s one intelligent horse all right.  And he stands about the typical hands (unit of measuring a horse’s height) for an average thoroughbred.  At one time, he was actually my project horse for riding and training.

Aussie (on the left)

            For those of you that have been reading my blog since its very beginning in April, you’ll remember my current project horse Sterling whom I ride and train during my riding lessons (see Heart-chords post Lesson from Sterling shared in April 2012).  Sterling is also a thoroughbred; however, he is considerably smaller than Aussie.  Before Sterling was purchased from his present owners, he had been ridden hard and worked for complex tasks before his back had developed strong enough to support that extent of strenuousness.  Because of that, Sterling’s growth was stunted, and he will never grow to be as tall as he should’ve been.  A regular Black Beauty story, right?

Sterling

          

         I wonder how often we’re just like Sterling though.  How often we allow pressures of the world to weigh down upon us and hinder us from fulfilling the full potential that the Lord desires for us to attain.  Peer pressure, the sense of needing to measure up to the standards the world holds for us, the desire to impress, fear of other’s opinions and ridicule… and no, peer pressure does not only exist in the schools; it’s a very real and powerful force in the workplace as well.  There are so many avenues in our lives where unhealthy pressures can seep into our thoughts, perspectives, and even our self-esteem.  These negative influences of weight are not from the Lord and only tie us down, stunt our growth in God and the things of God, and prevent us from fulfilling the plans and potential the Lord has for each of us.

            Because of his past, Sterling will never grow to reach the height of an average thoroughbred, and he will never stand as tall as Aussie does, but that does not restrict his capabilities.  He can run just as fast as any horse, he can learn to jump and spin on his back hoofs, he can weave through cones and maneuver through a barrel pattern, and he can stop just as fast as you can ask him to.  And like Sterling, our past decisions do not limit how we can be used by God for His glory and His kingdom.  Every decision that we make has its consequences of course, and just as Sterling’s past affected him permanently, sometimes the consequences of our choices will affect the rest of our lives and might be something we have to live with indefinitely, but even those consequences do not place restrictions on how the Lord can use us.  Consider Paul formerly Saul who persecuted the Christians, Matthew the tax collector who later became one of the twelve first disciples of Christ, or Rahab the prostitute who harbored Joshua’s spies in Jericho.  Not exactly examples of your ideal “Jesus instruments,” right?  Our pasts and failures do not restrict us from following Jesus Christ, and they do not place barriers and limitations on our service to the Lord and what He wants to do in us and through us.

            Don’t buy into the lie that your past makes you inferior in any way to other believers and disqualifies you from being used by God.  And don’t allow the pressure of the world to bear its weight down upon you and hinder you from becoming all that the Lord wants you to become in Him.  You are uniquely created and are loved unconditionally and have a divine purpose and calling for your life.  God has had a special plan in mind just for you since the day you were conceived and He began forming you perfectly in His image.  It is not His will for you to be fettered by the pressures and cares of this world, and He wants to deliver you from that burden.  Just let Him.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

*This morning in church, a member of our church congregation had returned for a visit after being away.  This was the first time I had seen Jonathan since he had left after enlisting in the United States Army, and seeing him in his military camos really struck me so hard that I honestly wanted to cry but just couldn’t.  We see men and women in uniforms sometimes in the shops around town and almost always at the airport, but to see in person someone I know in a military uniform… I admit I was shaken although I didn’t show it.  Maybe even more so because Jonathan isn’t much older than myself.  Please continue to pray for our troops, fellow Americans… even though it’s easy to forget sometimes in our day-to-day lives that soldiers even exist.

Photo courtesy of horse racing: www.123rf.com

~We’ve all heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,” but heart-chords?  I was struggling to decide what to name my blog.  I wanted it to be a name that was both creative and meaningful.  As I pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic guitar where it stands in my bedroom, and the Lord reminded me that our hearts- our lives- are instruments.  They are constantly in song, but what melody our heart plays is each of our own decisions.  They can play a melody for praise or for entertainment.  A musician selects his songs according to his audience.  So do we.  Whether our audience is the world or the Lord, our song will be different.  This blog is designed to first, increase my awareness in finding God and His guidance in my every day and second, to share the music lessons He teaches me in tuning my heart to learn the chords of praise He longs to play on my heart-instrument.  Music is a powerful tool.  Use it for His glory.  “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3