| Subject: The War Horse |
Author:
Hillbilly
| [ Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 20:03:01 12/01/12 Sat
THE WAR HORSE
Job 39:19-25 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? 20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible. 21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. 22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. 23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. 24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. 25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
I read one time of a herd of retired calvary horses that were put to pasture to live out the rest of their days in peace and tranquility. If memory serves me correctly they were survivors of the Napoleonic wars. One day as a rather severe thunder storm came up from the horizon these horses were observed to at first get restless and then get excitable. As the storm drew closer and the thunder rolled louder and louder the horses were observed to do a remarkable thing. They assembled themselves in a line as if getting ready for a battle charge and faced the thunder and lightning pawing the ground and snorting. Their training and experience had become so ingrained in them they excitedly awaited the order to charge. To them this was their purpose for being alive and the battle with all it's noise, confusion and smells of smoke and blood were so ingrained in them they without fear faced the perceived excitement and danger.
As I pondered this scene in my mind and reflected on what I might learn from these noble steeds it dawned on me that the horse was a means of transporting the fighting man into battle. That was his only mission. The horse did none of the fighting but he enabled the rider to race into the melee that the battle might be engaged swiftly and ferociously and hopefully won. The warrior that sits astride the warhorse does all the fighting but in addition it is the warrior that guides and does the thinking. The horse is merely to convey the rider where he wants to go and do so without hesitation. The horse and rider must work as a unit and in a sense must have the relationship of the body to the brain.
The relationship between the rider and the calvary horse is the type of relationship that should exist between the Christian soldier and our "Warrior King" for we fight a battle that has been ongoing for six thousand years. We should realize that God wants us to be as the battle horse. We are to carry Him into battle and it is He and not ourselves that does the actual fighting (2 Chron. 20:25, 1 Sam. 17:47). Spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:12) is not fought with guns, bombs and knives but by the Spirit of God. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
If we as "God's transportation" would be as eager as the war horse to carry our Lord to the fight the Church would be much stronger and the world as a whole a much better place to live in. There would be far more victories than we see today. Today's Church for the most part acts as a defeated army with no more will to carry the fight to the enemy.
I'm afraid today's Christian is more like an old gelding horse my cousin owned. His name was "Fury" and if ever a horse was misnamed it was fury. You never in your life saw a lazier horse. One day my cousin rode Fury to my grandmother's where I was staying at the time and invited me to ride with him back to his house for the rest of the day. I secured permission and off we went. "Giddy up Fury". The command brought about as much response as telling a snail or turtle to hurry up. Off Fury plodded toward my cousin's house at a snail's pace and all the prodding, poking, yelling and slapping didn't faze him. It took us more than a half an hour to go the possibly three fourths of a mile to his house but we finally topped the hill overlooking his house and the barn where the horse was sheltered. When we topped that hill the horse's ears shot straight up and suddenly off he galloped. The horse saw home and thought of the hay racks and pasture and nothing could hold him back. It was all we could do to stay on the beast and to make matters worse the saddle started slipping and sliding back and forth. The horse had "puffed up" when my cousin tightened the cinch strap and when the horse started running he let the air out and the saddle was then loose. We made it by the grace of God without falling off but I never trusted that horse again.
Thinking about Fury and his actions as opposed to the actions of the battle horse made me realize many more Christians are like Fury than are like the old war horse. No matter how much the Rider tries to get us to move we just plod along grudging every step and certainly in no hurry to obey the commands. We reluctantly and spiritlessly head off to do the bidding of the Master and don't get in any hurry until we see home and it's material comforts. Is it any wonder there is no more enthusiasm for Christianity. We have lost our zeal and determination to carry our Master at a full gallop where ever He wants us to go.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
] |
|
Feedback: 