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Good
Monday Mornin!
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything. James 1:1-4
Cory and I picked up a couple of horses that a lady gave us a few weeks
ago. One of them we brought home to break and sale. Well when we first
went and picked him up, this horse we have come to call Junior, has been
really nervous, and everything that we have done has had to be slow and
easy. Due to my busyness of life, Cory has taken over and he is doing all
the work on this horse. It has been amazing the transformation that has
happened and just a couple of weeks ago we put the saddle on for the first
time, and then last week Cory got on him for the first time.
At first when Cory put his foot in the stirrup old Junior didn't know what
to think, but then he calmed down and Cory proceeded to get closer and
closer to getting on him until finally he just threw a leg over. Well
Junior
just stood there, and then I led him around in some circles and then Cory
just let him go where he wanted to in the round pen and we called it a
day.
As I am writing this, Cory is out in the round pen riding Junior this
morning because he has progressed very quickly. It has been amazing to
watch
him, and I know that he is going to be an awesome horse. But when I think
about Junior and his journey to this point in his life, I am reminded of
me
and you and how God wants to move us forward so that we can be all that he
wants us to be. Follow me on a few things. . .
1. There was a time when Junior was certain that Cory and I wanted to kill
him. You could see it in his eyes. He would get all scared and run from
us. And any sudden movement could send him into a panic! And the reason I
say that is because there are times in my life when I search for God's
motive and it scares me. What I mean is I am not sure what God is trying
to do and so it scares me. I see God take me down paths that I don't want
to go down, and there are times when I can see that what He is asking me
to do doesn't make any sense and that is scary. But God has not given us a
spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind, which brings
me to my second point. . .
2. Junior had to build trust in us and the only way Cory did
that was time. The other day Cory saw that the horses were lying down, and
so he just went out there and sat on the ground next to them. Just sat
there! Didn't have anything to do, didn't want to catch them,
just wanted to be with them, but that is precisely what builds trust is
time! If we ever want to trust God we must be willing to spend time with
Him! And I don't mean time with an agenda like. . . "now I am going
to pray, now I am going to read my Bible, now I am going to journal ect. .
. " all of those things are GREAT ways to spend time with God, but
sometimes you just have to "be" with God. Sometimes it's good to
just sit down next to Him and just be. This is the only way you will ever
learn to trust Him.
3. And finally Junior has a purpose now. You see the whole time that Cory
has been going through this process of getting Junior under saddle is to
fulfill a purpose in making him a good horse for somebody to do life with.
And now that purpose is being fulfilled. And just
like Junior God has a purpose for you and for me. He has a very specific
thing that He wants to do if we will only let Him. Guys please don't miss
that God wants to grow you, He wants to mature you, but most of all He
wants to use you to redeem mankind back to Himself!
I hope that in some way this has helped you guys this week!
I love you all have a great day!
Pastor Jason Lyle
The Open Range Church of Henry County
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those
who
believe and are saved.
Hebrews 10:39
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