My daughters horse lesson

        My daughter, Ashley, had this horse. She, like most teenagers, got busy and her horse became less and less of a priority. Anyone who knows anything about horses knows that you must work a horse, staying on top of the relationship and continuing to engage him and love on him. If you don't spend time with said horse, he will naturally revert back to its first or "fallen" nature. One day, after weeks of pleading with my daughter, continually reminding her to go ride and work her horse, she finally decides to obey. As we walk out to the pasture, ashley whistles and her wonderful horse comes running. As he rubs his head on Ashley's face, my daughter simultaneously feeds him an apple and gives me the sarcastic look of "see daddy, I got this". I walk away to get the lunge line and other equipment as my daughter continues to saddle the horse. From all outward appearances, it looks as though daddy is wrong and is just being too hard on his teenager. 
       Then, Ashley is in the midst of trotting the horse around the pond. As she comes around the back side, the horse sees me and then sees the barrels my daughter had run with him for years. When he sees those barrels, this horse, who has done so well I'm the past, decides that the fun, wonderful, awesome days are over. He breaks into a full gallop and just about the time he gets near me he blows completely out, hurling my daughter 10 feet into the air. As she hits the ground, she rolls in the dirt and I look at her in horror, thinking that she has just broken her back. Praise God all she received were some bruising. However, the horses outcome was not so good. I went into the house, put my boots and spurs on, put that horse in the Round Pen where he and I had a full blown rodeo right then and there. Some of the neighbors even brought their lawn chairs out for the spectacle. My daughter learned a great lesson that day; however, God showed me a great life lesson that day as well.
        You see, we as Christians sometimes can live a very superficial existence. We can come to church and say all the christianese words and phrases that so many have become accustomed to. For example, how are you frank, "Oh brother, I am blessed and highly favored". And from the outward appearance that we so fiercely protect, everything seems fantastic. But just below that surface is a little bit of a sore spot, an area of hurt and pain that is hidden away. You see, a cowboy will take a horse in the round pen and he will continue to work down further and further, using a series of pressure/release tactics. He wants to have that horse expose his hidden issues in that round pen, in an arena of love where there's a relationship of trust. The cowboy would rather it be exposed in that atmosphere rather than in a place outside of the round pen that may cause real pain and could even become dangerous. The key of the horses master is to root out all the levels of old nature until he has a fully broke, fully submitted horse that has changed it's nature so much that all he truly wants to do is the masters will. A fully broke horse is a horse that is grateful to the horseman for his blessed life.
        I am sure by now that you can see the parallel. Every one of us has issues, and my point here is to plead with you to submit them to the Master and bring them into the round pen where God can deal with them with love and help you to fulfill what he called you to be. I would even go so far as to say the round pen should be the church. The right church and pastor should be a place where you can be real and root deep down to expose those issues in the correct environment rather than them being exposed in a setting that can bring absolute destruction. My friend, find a good church and start your round pen experience today!