Hope in the Promises of God and Live by Faith
One afternoon, when I went out to feed my horse, Hemingway, I decided to pet him first. He was really grumpy and decided since his lunch was late, he wanted nothing to do with me, so whipped around to look the other way and totally ignore me. I grabbed a lead line and rushed over to him. I was clearly upset and he knew it because he suddenly became very solemn. I looped the rope over his neck and pulled him back to where we started. Now, we were both content and I was the one in control, not him. He even ended up enjoying the little “grooming” session I gave him.
In this instance, God brought a verse to mind,
“Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.”
Psalm 32:9
As I stood their petting Hemingway I noticed the parallel between this verse and the little spat we just had. Horses are naturally wild creatures. They have their preferred way of doing something and can be pretty stubborn when it comes to doing things our way. But, horses are also mutually respectful and loving. When you earn their trust, most of the time they will do whatever you ask. As soon as I put a “bridle” on Hemingway, he is instantly reminded of who is boss and will likely not test my authority. Though sometimes he may not like it, he is generally very obedient when I bridle him.
When I later looked up the reference of the verse, God also brought to my attention Psalm 39:1.
“I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.” –Psalm 39:1
A bridles job is to guide and direct the animal, or in this case the human, to do what you want them to do. According to these two verses, we have two options in this life:
- We either bridle our own bodies and do what is right or
- We let God bridle us and lovingly guide us to do what is right
For a long time I had been praying that God would bridle me, that He would lead me everywhere I should go, that He teach me everything I should know, and give me exact step by step instructions on what to do next. But I suddenly realized God wants us to bridle ourselves, to step out in faith, and do what we already know to be right. We need to hope in God’s promises etched all throughout the bible and trust that He will keep them when we do our part.
The promise I want to share with you today is the verse right before Psalm 32:9.
“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”
Psalm 32:8
To be continued…
Be Still and Run 
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