As I drove home from a meeting out of town, my daughter, Breanne, began to talk about an upcoming horse clinic she was going to. She shared with me how the trainers made the horses walk through pool noodles, small swimming pools, over wooden planks and bridges and several other things.
When Breanne was finished talking I said ‘what is the purpose of all that? I can’t imagine that your horse would ever run into a group of pool noodles in the field, I don’t understand the purpose.’ Her reply astounded me. She said ‘it is to teach her that no matter where I take her or what I ask her to walk through or what I require of her, that she will continue to trust me and know that I will keep her safe.’
Aha! I said to her ‘is that not what God has been doing with us?’ You see, I have shared with you that she and I have walked through some challenges in January – is not God doing the same with us – teaching us that no matter what we walk through, no matter where he leads us, no matter what is required of us, that he has a good plan, a good outcome for us and he will keep us safe.
These horse clinics are called De-spooking clinics. In each session, the horses are made to continually go through these obstacles until they can calmly and confidently walk through without being spooked. This is such good revelation and I hope you are seeing what I am seeing. God causes us to walk through, literally walks us through places where we may feel like we can’t make it through, yet he brings us out on the other side, stronger than before. I have seen this over and over in my life. I have never walked through a difficult time in my life where I did not come out with more faith, more confidence in God and more peace than I had when I went in.
God has promised to take care of us, we only have to believe his word and trust in his faithfulness.
Isaiah 43 says; “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;”
James 1 says; My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
And finally, Romans 8:28-29 says; And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.
It is God’s plan that we are conformed as sons into the image of His Son. This requires discipline or training from God and trust from us…knowing that he is working all things for our good.
We are all going to walk through challenging seasons or days, but God is faithful and He promises us that we will come out triumphant. We only have to look back through the pages of the Bible to see his faithfulness to his people in difficult times.
We see his faithfulness to Abraham as Abraham placed his most treasured offering on the altar. We see his faithfulness to Daniel as he shut the mouth of the lion. We see his faithfulness with David as he helped him slay the giant and kept him alive even though his enemies sought to kill him. We see his faithfulness to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as he placed the fourth man in the fire. We even see his faithfulness to Abraham, when he delivered Lot, his wife and children, before he destroyed a city. God is faithful – he was faithful to them and he is faithful to you.
God didn’t stop the challenges from coming but he made sure they came out victorious, every single time. He will do the same for you.
God is not allowing these seasons for nothing. It is to bring you to a place of completeness, a complete trust in him and his faithfulness. He is training you for reigning.
Breanne’s horse will not enjoy the de-spooking training, I am sure. But when she completes her training, she will be equipped to walk through any place that she is taken without fear and with perfect confidence in her owner.
We may not enjoy the challenges we face or that we walk through, however, in the end, we will be equipped to walk through any season, any place God desires to take us without fear and with perfect confidence in our God. Complete and lacking nothing.
I am reminded of Romans 8:18, therefore I will leave you with this scripture today; For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
His glory is about to be revealed in and through you – trust Him.
