A Horse of a Different Color

“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love” Psalm 147:3, 10-11.

I cannot believe how differently I see things since God has reworked my heart and rewired my mind.  I have always been a person who sought approval and acceptance through service to others and accomplishments.  I felt that the more I did for others, the more loved I would be.  This equation is only as good as the last thing we do for others.  Human nature has a short memory and an even shorter span with their loyalty.   

So why do we strive so hard to work at things that only temporarily satisfy the flesh?  Why do we see ourselves as the accomplished instead of the chosen?  God makes it clear throughout the Bible that the work of our hands apart from His will is busy work.  We have been chosen for a special purpose, and gifted to complete that purpose.  When we build our lives riding our own self-made horses we steer them in our own direction.  When we walk out our lives detouring on our own paths we miss the road that leads to the destination to which God wanted to bless us.  We are told in Psalm 147:10-11 that we are God’s pleasure and delight when we approach Him with reverence and hope in His love instead of our accomplishments.

What does our reverence to God look like in our lives?  We show reverence to God when we surrender our own plans to Him.  We show reverence to our Father when we esteem Him as all sovereign, all knowing and all powerful.  We show reverence when we remember that we love Him because He first loved us.  He delights in us as we delight in Him, and we are His pleasure when He becomes ours.  ‘God does not take pleasure in man’s reliance on himself, on his own strength…What God does take pleasure in is man’s reliance on God, on man’s fear of Him and trust in Him.  God takes pleasure in our attitudes more than our accomplishments’ The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p. 925.  This fellowship begins when we leave our own horses and climb up on His. 

‘I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, who rider is Faithful and True… On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS’ Rev 19:11, 16.