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What Are You
AFRAID
Of?
'For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, "Do not fear, I will help you." '
(Isaiah 41: 13)
Every horse owner wisely learns
to recognize this look of
fear in a horse's eye.
Anyone who has been around horses long enough recognizes the wide-eyed look of fear they get when they are frightened, spooked, or apprehensive about something. It can be downright un-nerving if you haven't witnessed this "look of fear" before. The whites of the horse's eye usually becomes noticeably large, and the eyeball itself seems to become smaller with a pinpointed stare. When a horse is completely given over to fear, they are no longer using the "thinking" side of their brain. The horse simply knows that he is scared, and he knows he may only have one chance to make the right choice, lest he end up in a dog-food can, or across the ocean on someone's dinner plate. Once fear has a horse in it's grip, he may resort to using the "reactive" side of his brain in order to save what he thinks is his own skin. That usually means rearing, bucking, running away, stomping, biting, charging, or whatever it takes to stay safe, and escape the source of fear.
Have you ever thought about fear? If you talk to one-hundred people, you will discover one-hundred different fear-factors. Some people are fearful of bugs, other people fear snakes. Some folks are fearful of flying, some are fearful of cars. Some people are fearful of germs, some are fearful of crowds. And then, there's the fear of the unknown. Some folks are fearful of the dark, while others fear things that go bump in the night. And then, of course, there's the all-time favorite - fear of death. "Fear" is a very real "state of mind" for some people. If it had not been real, then God would not have spent so much time telling us in His Word to "fear not". So, how do we overcome fear? We overcome our fears by "choosing" to put our complete trust in God. He alone has purchased our true liberty - the liberty that sets us free from fear.
TRUE LIBERTY
Freedom From Fear
"Be strong and courageous: Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."
(Deuteronomy 31: 6)
There is nothing more beautiful than the sight of a colt as he loses his fear and learns to trust for the first time. This is true liberty.
It might surprise some folks to learn that fear is a spirit, and "should not be a welcome guest" in any believer's life. Why? Fear is an enemy of God! Keep that in mind the next time your friends want you to go see a seemingly innocent scary movie. There is nothing innocent about fear. In fact, fear can be absolutely crippling in it's effects on people, - effects that can last a lifetime if given a stronghold in one's life. God didn't say for us to entertain fear. He said, "Fear Not!", and He said it over and over again. A quick Google search shows that the words "fear not", or words with that same connotation, appear in the Bible hundreds of times. One minister aptly said, "Shouldn't telling us one time to 'fear not' have been enough for believers?" Apparently, not!
Here's something to keep in mind when thinking about fear. Fear is a spirit. Prey animals, such as horses, embody the spirit of fear. That spirit is an instinctual mechanism that they are born with, whereby they stay alert, and therefore, are able to stay alive. This natural instinct causes a horse to re-act first, and think later.
The good news is, through conditioned response training techniques, and repetition, we can train a horse to do just the opposite of what his natural instincts of fear are telling him to do. However, no matter how well trained, that spirit of fear never leaves a horse completely.
We can teach a horse to think first, and re-act later, if he even re-acts at all. To do that, in the beginning it is usually necessary to keep a horse on a lead-line in order to "guide and direct him" through the learning process. But eventually, the horse no longer needs the lead-line. He can be trusted at completely liberty. And what is real liberty? Is it the mere removal of halters and lead-lines? Not to a horse. And not to you and me, either. True liberty is being able to live one's life completely "fear-less" in every situation! And how can you and I do that in a fear-filled world? We can be fear-less when we really believe that God meant exactly what He said. And what did God say? He said He would never leave us, nor forsake us. With a lead line, or without it, when we can sense God's presence, or even when we can't, - we have learned to trust Him completely. This is true liberty, and we are fear-less!
FEAR-LESS
Living
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
(Psalm 23: 4)
Terriers make great farm and ranch dogs. And because they are so fear-less, they often help get the "fear and spook" out of horses, too!
Sometimes getting the fear out of people is more difficult than getting the fear out of horses. Perhaps that's because horses are smart, but not very complicated. People, on the other hand are complicated, but aren't always so smart. One of my favorite horse clinicians often says (and nope, I won't name him here), "Training horses is easy. It's teaching people that's the real trick ." That being said, how can we change the learning curve for people? The same way we do with horses - through repetition! Remember, even God knew that telling us to "fear not" one time probably wouldn't get the job done. In order to learn a new way of thinking, He knew we would have to be told over and over again. And even then, something more would have to take place. We would have to put God's Word into action. And how do we do that? We do it by saying what He says over and over, and over again. And finally, we believe it.
Putting The Enemy To
FLIGHT
With God's Word
"For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline"
(1 Timothy 1: 7)
Cowboys are a tough breed, but it still takes the Sword of the Spirit (God's Word) to put the enemy of fear to flight.
Fear is no respecter of person's. It doesn't care who you are, how old you are, how big you are, or how much money you have. It is an equal-opportunist. It rides in like an angel on a wing of hope, only to be an imposter with your destruction in mind. It is the bad image you can't get out of your mind during the day, and the interloper in your dreams at night. Fear is the enemy of your soul (your mind and intellect), and the robber of your peace. Fear is God's enemy, and your enemy, too. So, why do we entertain the enemy at all? Most people do it innocently enough because they like to think they are tough enough to handle it. But no matter how "tough" a person is, only the Sword of the Spirit (God's Word) can put the spirit of fear to flight. In 1 Timothy 1: 7, the Bible says that God gave you and me the spirit of power, and of love, and of self-discipline. Lot's of well meaning folks get the "power and love" part of this scripture, but they overlook the part about "self-discipline". What does it mean to be self-disciplined? According to Webster's dictionary...
"Self discipline is the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite the temptation to abandon it."
There is always the temptation to abandon what we know is right. Choose to be self-disciplined enough to never abandon the truth of what you know. Fear does not have to be the last word in your life. In fact, you have been given "the last word" over fear because God put His Word in you, and His Word is always final! Now is the time to square your shoulders with confidence, and determine to walk in the wonderful liberty that you were created and destined for. And how do you walk in this wonderful liberty? You start by "choosing" to say what God says in every situation, and then you...
Fear Not!
Natural Horse
Faith-Man-Ship
(Teaching biblical faith using horses)
ARE YOU READY FOR THE FAITH RIDE OF
YOUR LIFE?
To Learn More...
EMAIL US
ksworldmin@aol.com
*Susan Klaudt Horse Ministry and Natural Horse Faith-Man-Ship are protected by exclusive copyright, and are outreaches of Kim and Susan Klaudt World Ministries, Inc., a 501 (C) (3) not for profit ministry.
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