THE HORSE

In my opinion, no animal has affected human history more than the horse. Dogs have provided companionship and protection. Cows have provided meat and milk. But the horse has been ridden, used to pull chariots, wagons, and plows, and has bravely carried innumerable warriors into battle.

When God chided Job for his attitude and behavior, one of the examples He used was the mighty horse. "Hath thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? The glory of his nostrils is terrible." (Job 30:19-20) God's point was that the power and might of the horse is completely beyond any man's ability to create. Only God could be responsible for such a magnificent creature.

I cannot think of horses with seeing images of the Old American West. The Cowboys and Indians riding across the endless prairies and deserts on back of their trusty and tireless steeds. Many of these horses, especially in the case of the Indians, had once roamed wild and free. They were the wild mustangs, descendants of horses brought here by early Spanish explorers.

The mustang, perhaps more than anything else, typified the wild untamed nature of the Old West. They answered to no master and heeded no one's will but their own. But from Man's point of view, as long as they roamed free, they were doing no one any good. In order to be made useful, they had to be captured and broken.

But what does it mean to "break" a horse. As long as the mustang still had a mind to do as he wished, he would allow no man to sit upon his back. However, if he could be made to think that he had no choice, that no matter how hard he bucked he couldn't throw the man. Or, even if he did manage to throw his rider, he would just climb right back on. Eventually, tired and disheartened, the horse would simply give up and accept his fate. His will was crushed and replaced by the will of whatever man commanded him.

In a similar way, as long as any man or woman runs wild and free, simply doing as they please, they are of no use to God whatsoever. In order for God to make use of us, He must first "break" us. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psa. 51:17) We must be willing to yield to Him completely and do His bidding.

Think of the great figures of the Bible and how God often had to "break" them before He could use them. Moses was very reluctant to serve God as he had been commanded. But after hardship and adversity he made a leader of unparalleled accomplishment. Pharaoh needed ten plagues, including the death of his firstborn son, to "break" him and force him to yield to God's will.

David spent many years in hardship fleeing the wrath of Saul. During this time God succeeded in "breaking" him and creating a man who served Him fully (1Ki. 15:5). Paul had to be deprived of his eyesight in order to "break" him and make him a tremendous servant of God. Peter had to suffer humiliation and doubt several times before he was "broken." Jonah had to spend three days and nights in the belly of a great fish before he yielded to God's will.

Paul tells us that we should be "transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Rom. 12:2) That is, God is continually in the process of "breaking" us and causing us to be more concerned with doing His will and less with doing our own.

Jesus told us that we should have the humble attitude of a child (Mat. 18:2-4). Children, if reared properly, exemplify the "broken spirit" spoken of in Psalm 51:17. They do not run wild (as so many children do today) but are in complete subjection to their parents as they should be (Eph. 6:1-3). But a child is not born with this "broken spirit," rather their spirit must be tamed by their parents.

When a child is born he knows nothing of right and wrong, of respect for others, of self discipline, or of humility. All these things he learns as he is taught and essentially "broken" by his parents. Some might think this a harsh way to express child rearing, but it is an accurate way. Without discipline, any child would become the temper-tantrum-throwing, disrespectful monsters we have all seen in Wal-Mart, the grocery store, etc.

A child must first learn to control his desires and impulses for the benefit of himself and others. He must learn to yield to the laws and customs of the land in which he lives. Later, as he matures, that child must learn further to yield himself to his Creator. Until he is broken by God, any child or adult is useless to God.

"But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." (Isa. 64:8) Being broken is certainly no easier for us than the proud mustangs of the Old West. But for our own good we must lay aside our pride and yield ourselves to the Almighty. I pray that the Lord may be able to "break" us all and find us profitable in His service.