Photo by Philippe Oursel
Wild thought for the day: Submitting to God is like submitting to an Olympic expert who trains the body and mind to excel in extraordinary ways. Horses in the Olympics are trained like gymnast Simone Biles has been trained. In Dressage, horses’ feet need to move in a symmetrical but difficult pattern. They dance. How does any human body do amazing feats, with feet landing spot on to the acclaim of thousands in an audience? The same thing is true for these Olympic horses. They yielded to a trainer’s touch and wisdom to get where they are. They practiced. Humans or animals are not machines that end up at this final stage in a competition at the flick of a switch.
My paying attention to God in fear is way different from my paying attention because of a loving, trusting relationship. No horse in the Olympics reaches that stage by negative teaching. There is a bond between horse, rider, and trainer.
What this means for me is when negative thoughts dominate my mind, I need my trainer’s reassurance over and over again. That connection is not coming from doing A. B. C. methods, it goes much deeper than that. It reaches the inner parts where fear resides and says I believe my trainer’s intentions are for my good, and he is faithful. Watching a good trainer, having a good teacher, and having someone in your life with the purest motives is key to doing things with excellence. Go beyond learning about Jesus, the perfect one in motive and intentions, and be in tune with what he really thinks about you. Not disappointed in you, for he knows your weakness already, he knows your need already, he longs that our self-imposed resistance melts in his loving gaze.
