Horses are among the most beautiful of God’s creatures. We envision them standing in the wind, mane and tail blowing free; or running on the beach, with water splashing at each footstep. Who would not love horses, for they embody elegance and power.
Yet, and there is always a yet, as beautiful as a horse is, it only becomes useful when it is willing to accept a bridle, showing it submits to our authority. The thoroughbred racer? It will amount to nothing if left to run free in the field. A child’s pony? It will buck wildly if not trained to accept a rider. A cutting horse? No one wins a competition on an untrained beast.
James 3:2 tells us:
“For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”
The bridle is the Lord’s, and when we submit to him, we will walk with a sure step, a thoroughbred in him.
Why is accepting the bridle of the Lord so vital to Christian living? Look at these examples:
Proverbs 25:23 gives us cause to think:
“The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.”
Leviticus 19:16 warns us against the path of the unbridled person:
“You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.”
Revelation 21:8 opens the book to our fate if we refuse the bridle of the Lord:
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
If we return to the first chapter of James, in Verse 19, we are given the first gentle nudge that helps us to accept our bridle:
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…”
As humans, we love standing in the wind; and to run the beach with water underneath our feet, who would not enjoy that? Yet, we can become God’s thoroughbred only when we accept his constraints. We will provide help to the weak only when we give up our freedoms to him. We will divide the Word of Truth only when we allow Christ to train us with his skillful hand.
When we give control to God, he trains us to run as a thoroughbred for him.
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