Yesterday I watched as my riding coach Trish began the first steps to training and breaking in a close to wild horse. No one can ride her, get a brush, halter or anything near her and my coach was finally called in by the horse’s owners to help.
I watched on as Trish worked to build connection, trust and confidence. It was amazing to witness the same animal go from one who was frightened and uncertain to only an hour later calmly following Trish around the yard and even allowing her to pat her gently on the nose.
All that was needed was some time and knowledge of what this horse needed, and the effort made to build a connection. There is still a lot of work to be done but a start has been made.
Relationships are much the same between humans. Depending on our history, experiences and upbringing most of us need time to build real, genuine relationships. If we’ve been damaged in some way we can also be like that wild horse and shy away from contact and connection, as we lack trust and confidence both in ourselves and in others. However with some healing of our hearts and being around the right person/people we can learn to trust again and to build real connections.
Jesus is a great place to start this process as He knows what He is doing when it comes to relationships. Just as Trish knew the subtle body language and things to watch for to determine connection and trust level, Jesus does too. As we learn to have a confidence in Him and realise that He will never leave us, but always “have our backs”, we will also begin to be able to build deeper connections with other people, if we will take the time and effort.
Today, if you’re feeling a bit like that skittish wild horse who just wants to get out of the yard and be left alone, know that Jesus sees you and He knows what He is doing. If you’ll trust him and His knowledge and expertise in relationships and understanding of you, He will calm all your fears, show you that you can trust and rely on Him, lead you in the way to go and also enable you to share your life with others. But first you’ve got to come out of hiding and into “His” yard and allow Jesus to reveal who He is and the way He does things. Why not come out of hiding today?
Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Duet 31:6)
“But, you Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 86:15)
Prayer: Lord please help me to come out of hiding when it comes to having meaningful deep relationships. But first I’d like to get to know you more and the way you do things, so that I can learn to really trust someone. Please help me to do that we with you today. In Jesus name Amen.