"Fear"

Are you gonna ride that pony,

My brother said to me,

The reason that he asked it,

Was very plain to see.

‘Cause standin’ there a-waitin’,

With a mule-drawn wagon train,

My paint horse went to buckin’,

Thought he had gone insane.

I was sittin’ on my buckskin,

The lead rope in my hand,

My brother right beside me,

The weather bein’ grand.

It was somethin’ ‘bout the harness,

Or the trace chains those mules pulled,

Or the rattle of the wagon,

That filled that paint horse full,

Of buckin’ fear and movement,

When he jerked away from me,

And then put on a little show,

For everyone for free.

He bucked like he’d been trained to,

The wagons stopped, men cheered,

And I was just a-wonderin’,

How I’d calm down his fear.

And, no, he didn’t run off,

Bucked in just one place,

But swapping ends and gruntin’,

With a horse smile on his face.

I finally caught the lead rope,

Calmed down and got him set,

The wagons started off again,

Here we go, you bet.

 Be dern it happened once again,

His buckin’ was not done,

Pulled away, I lost my grip,

And let me tell you, son,

This time he’s like a saddle bronc,

From the NFR last time,

But there was nothin’ I could do,

But grab that old lead line.

And I was s’posed to ride him,

In the rodeo parade,

They’d promised my old buckskin,

To some rodeo queen maid.

Well, we finally got there,

And I stepped onto the paint,

Ready for ‘bout anything,

But hopin’ that he ain’t,

Still interested in buckin’,

I said a little prayer,

I think the Good Lord heard me,

And answered then and there.

‘Cause Scout, my buckin’ paint horse,

Behaved so quietly,

You never would have thought it,

Like a different horse, you see.

And very clear the lesson,

When folks start actin’ strange,

Do things so erratic,

And surprise you with a change,

It might be just they’re scared,

Of something they can see,

Or could be just inside ‘em,

Not how they used to be.

The Good Lord’s love will help ‘em,

He’ll drive that old fear out,

In fact that’s part of healing,

And what His love’s about.

So take hold of that lead rope,

And help the ones you can,

Fear can cause a buckin’ fit,

But love will make ‘em stand.

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear…” (1 John 4:18, NLT)

What are you afraid of? Nothing, I hope. But some of us are still working on the things that threaten, worry, and cause us dread. Many times we hear the words of Jesus: “Fear not.” Many have said that fear is simply faith that’s headed in the wrong direction. It’s expecting something bad instead of something good. But the answer is not just about our faith in God, but more specifically about trusting in His love. If He loves me and I know it, odds go up that I surrender all that intimidates me into His hands. When His love fills our hearts it washes the fear overboard. John says if we’re still afraid of God’s judgment, or anything else for that matter, we have not fully experienced His perfect love. That’s not a put-down. It’s an invitation. Get this love, really get it, and the love crowds out the fear. What a relief!

Lord, fill us with Your love and cast out our fear, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tyler Crow, tylercrow.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Tyler, and God bless you.