Psalm 86:5 - For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, rich in faithful love to all who call on You.
Hold no grudges. Expect the best, even as you prepare for the worst. When horses are first being trained, they will make mistakes, they will show signs of fear and frustration as they learn what is expected of them. But it’s up to the trainer to be patient and to forgive every offense. If they spook in the corner every time, the trainer must behave as if they never have. He must ride through that corner without changing the way he rides. If he protects himself against being hurt, he’ll tense his body and cause an incident to happen.
It’s only through patient repetition—going through that corner over and over again with no bad incident—that the horse will learn to trust his trainer even when he’s afraid.
Sometimes we wonder why God doesn’t just correct us before we sin. But the reality is that if he were to do so, we’d resent it. Horses and humans are both rebellious by nature. If we don’t learn to do things ourselves, to make our own mistakes, we’ll resent the heavy hand of protection.
God’s nature is to guide us through the corner of our mistakes. To be there for us over and over again. He doesn’t protect himself from the heartache and pain we cause Him in our learning process. This is patience and faithfulness ~ always ready to forgive.
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Excerpt from the upcoming book Faith In Training by Pauline Creeden
For more devotionals like these, check out Christian In Training.
Hold no grudges. Expect the best, even as you prepare for the worst. When horses are first being trained, they will make mistakes, they will show signs of fear and frustration as they learn what is expected of them. But it’s up to the trainer to be patient and to forgive every offense. If they spook in the corner every time, the trainer must behave as if they never have. He must ride through that corner without changing the way he rides. If he protects himself against being hurt, he’ll tense his body and cause an incident to happen.
It’s only through patient repetition—going through that corner over and over again with no bad incident—that the horse will learn to trust his trainer even when he’s afraid.
Sometimes we wonder why God doesn’t just correct us before we sin. But the reality is that if he were to do so, we’d resent it. Horses and humans are both rebellious by nature. If we don’t learn to do things ourselves, to make our own mistakes, we’ll resent the heavy hand of protection.
God’s nature is to guide us through the corner of our mistakes. To be there for us over and over again. He doesn’t protect himself from the heartache and pain we cause Him in our learning process. This is patience and faithfulness ~ always ready to forgive.
***
Excerpt from the upcoming book Faith In Training by Pauline Creeden
For more devotionals like these, check out Christian In Training.