Resistance & Submission
A horse that is defiant, strong, and unyielding is a hard one to work with. I have worked with such horses, the last one stands out the most. I remember picking up her lead rope and feeling like I needed to put on a pair of boxing gloves. It shouldn't be like that, but she was so strong willed and we never did get through to her. The owner eventually ended up selling her.
Then there are the horses that are so easy to work with. They are smart, quick, and non-combative. They accept the leadership quickly and become willing partners. Not all of them start out that way though, we have to 'knock the loose' in the beginning sometime, just so they know we are serious.
We can be the exact same way. Horses crave leadership; and in all honesty, we do as well, we just don't want to accept where true good leadership comes from. Why is that? It's for the same reason as the horse, trust.
To understand how the truth of this verse comes about to us we have to look at how the horse responds. First let's look at their natural herd setting. How do two strong willed horses, who both think they need to be in charge act? They fight, it's noisy, there is lots of biting and kicking. One always turns away defeated, but not humbled. Many times, the horse that lost becomes a bully.
With a horseman, if they can get through a horse like that, the fight may never really be over. The horse will make several more attempts to come out on top. This is what pride is, thinking more of one's abilities than necessary. We do the same thing and the Lord opposes us. He will 'keep our feet moving,' so to speak, to build softness and suppleness in our thinking. The Lord put it perfectly in Ezekiel:
Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! Ezekiel 18:30-32
These words are for us as much as they were for Israel, they are His chosen people, but with the new covenant, the Lord will graft all people into His chosen people, so those words are for us as much as for Israel, because we are now part of Israel.
Now lets look at the submissive horse. The horse that submits their will to the horseman goes around with a 'yes mam' or 'yes sir' attitude. Can you image what the Lord can do with us if we had a 'yes Lord' attitude like Mary (Luke 1:38)? That would be a life full of adventure, peace, tranquility, and pleasure. Those horses are a pleasure to ride. I am known to say, "when you have control of the feet, you have control of the mind." The very same can be said of us. You see, submission comes from the heart, and our heart is directly connected to our mind, for what is in our heart (and mind) comes out in our word and deed (Matthew 15:8). Same with the horse, I can know what kind of a mind a horse has in a matter of minutes depending on if I can move the feet or not.
To the humble the Lord gives grace. Same with our horse. That stiff necked, strong willed horse will many times receive a 'bite' from the end of the lead, or rein, and may never be free of them. But a willing, submissive, humble horse will receive grace, quietness from the horseman. The Lord is the same with us. Take heed of this warning though, if we oppose the Lord too much, He will turn us over to the desires of our heart (Romans 1:18-31) and the heart of man is deceitful above all else (Jeremiah 17:9) and it does not end well for those who oppose the Lord.
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