"Wild One"

I watched the whole dern process,

And right before my eyes,

A horse that was quite dangerous,

Was a good one in disguise.

Truth is he’d been mistreated,

By owners in the past,

And fear was the main reason,

He ran away so fast.

Just tryin’ to protect himself,

From having injury,

But when the cowboy won his trust,

A big change came to be.

No more tryin’ to escape,

Or buckin’ in a fit,

But responding to the waving flag,

And then right to the bit.

But not ‘cause he was jerked around,

And forced to make him mind,

But doing ‘cause he found some peace,

And the more that he could find,

The more he saw that it was safe,

To do just what was asked,

And every horseman that I know,

Says horses need a task.

Time and again it comes to me,

Just how like that horse,

Runnin’ scared and dangerous,

And not much count of course.

Injuries that made me shy,

Away from those who care,

Especially the Savior,

Who was waiting always there.

And finally with loops of love,

He pulled me right around,

Teaching me that I could trust,

His pen was holy ground.

And now I’d say I’ve found the peace,

He wanted me to feel,

And gave me His assignment,

A purpose that is real.

So remember if you see one,

That you think’s too far gone,

Maybe give another chance,

‘Cause could be not too long,

He’ll come home just like I did,

To the Lord’s soft hand to lead,

And when the fear is over,

He gives us what we need.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV)

The wild horse is afraid of what he doesn’t understand. The right person may be able to win his trust and over time help him overcome his timidity. It’s harder if he’s been injured by people. The same is true with people. God wants to deliver us from our fears and replace them with power, love and self-discipline. Then we can live on purpose and in sync with the Spirit. If we’ve been injured by people, our challenge is to get over our reactions by God’s healing grace and not allow the past to hinder us. Our assignments require us to be fully available.

Lord, deliver us from our fears, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.