Psalm 32:8-9 - I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.
Do you believe that there is a right way to go in this life? Do you believe that there is a right way to understand yourself and the world around you? How you answer these questions is of the utmost importance. If you believe that any way can be the right way, then eventually you will find yourself without a firm foundation to stand upon. Not everything can be true, even though many people believe that what you want to say is true, will be.
What kind of people must we be then, if we want to know that we are headed the right direction? We must be people of understanding. The problem with so many ideologies today is that the people who believe them aren’t actually thinking through the validity of those beliefs, they just simply believe them because it makes them feel good. Many in the church can live this way as well. They like what they gain from Chrstianity, but they haven’t taken the time to really understand it.
If we go a certain direction simply because of how it makes us feel, we will find ourselves to be lost. If we hold a view of ourselves and of the world simply because it suits us, then we really aren’t walking in understanding, but in arrogance. The example the psalmist gives makes this plain.
A horse or a mule will do what a horse or mule wants to do. Without being tamed they won’t listen to command or be useful for anything that we need their help for. We can say all kinds of things to try to get them to do what we want, but they don’t understand, so they will go their own way rather than ours. But if you can tame them, then they will learn to understand you. Their will must be curbed or they will not stay near you. Without the bit and the bridle guiding them, they will go their own way, leaving you in the dust.
People are very much like this. If we don’t have a guide, leading us in the way we should go, we will simply do what we want to do. If we don’t understand the commands that have been given to us, we won’t listen. The truth is, God has given us the right way to go in this life and he has given us commands on how to live, but as long as we choose to ignore his voice and rebel against him, we will not understand these things.
Thankfully, by grace, God brings us in as wild mustangs and by his power alone, tames us and teaches us to understand his words. The question then is this, if you have now been tamed by God, and you understand his commands, do you heed them, or do you still want to live out your mustang ways? Many times we need others to counsel us and remind us that his ways are the best ways. Pray that God would help you to understand, and in understanding, you would follow after the commands of your good master, knowing that you are no longer lost, but found and loved.
