Make Sure You’re Riding the Right Horse!
By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. (Hebrews 11:23-28)
Two Kentucky farmers who owned racing stables had developed a keen rivalry. One spring each of them entered a horse in a local steeplechase. Thinking that a professional rider might help him outdo his friend, one of the farmers engaged a crack professional jockey. Finally the day of the race came. The horses all entered the starting cage and everyone heard the bell, signaling the start of the race. “And they’re off!” said the announcer over the loudspeaker. The two horses were neck and neck with a significant lead over the rest of the pack. But suddenly, just as they were rounding the last turn one of the horses slipped and bumped into the other one. Both fell, unseating their riders. When the rest of the pack caught up to them it was complete mayhem on the track with several other horses tripping and falling. Realizing the outcome of the race was still not determined; the professional jockey remounted quickly and rode on to win the race. Returning triumphantly to the paddock, the jockey found the farmer who had hired him fuming with rage. “What's the matter?” the jockey asked. “I won, didn't I?” “Oh, yeah,” roared the farmer. “You won all right, but you crossed the finish line on the wrong horse.” In his hurry to remount after the fall, the jockey had jumped on his competitor's horse. It doesn’t make a difference if you finish first if you’ve been riding the wrong horse in the race!
Too many people end up at the finish line realizing they have been living for the wrong things in life. The Bible provides us with many great examples of how we can avoid making such a terrible mistake. One such example is the life of Moses. In the passage above, Moses is spotlighted as a man who finished his race well. It teaches us there are four key issues that must be addressed in each of our lives:
The issue of identity. “By faith, Moses, when he had grown up refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” Moses was born a Hebrew slave but he was raised as Pharaoh's grandson in Pharaoh's palace, which was the most opulent place in the world at that time. Talk about a guy with an identity crisis! He had to decide: Who am I? Am I Jewish or am I Egyptian? Am I a slave? Or am I royalty? The answers to those questions would affect the rest of his life. Recognize the nature of his decision - the real issue is not, “Who do I want to be?” but “Who does God want me to be?” I’m convinced the reason many people get stuck in life – stuck in depression, anger, discouragement – is that they are still trying to force the issue “I want to be who I want to be!” and not really asking the question, “Who does God want me to be?” They get depressed or angry or discouraged when life doesn’t pan out the way they way they planned it. If your plans don’t line up with God’s plans – you’re going to get stuck. Moses insisted on being what God made him to be and no amount of peer pressure could convince him otherwise. You’ll avoid a lot of ulcers in this world if you just accept God’s plan for your life.
The issue of responsibility. “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.” Moses could have enjoyed the pleasures of sin – but notice what it says (for a short time) the pleasure of disobeying the Lord only last for a short time – and then it’s payday. You can choose sin, but God gets to choose the consequences to your choice. The pleasures of sin are short and always have a price tag attached to them. Moses accepted the fact that with leadership comes responsibility. He could have temporary pleasure being the next Pharaoh of Egypt or he could go do what God had called him to do and help the people who were in pain, who needed to be set free. He could have stayed there in pleasure and today no one would even have known Moses' name. He'd be some mummy in some tomb in Egypt. Nobody would even know who he is. But he chose the right thing. He accepted his responsibility and God used him greatly.
The issue of priority. “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Moses made some very wise decisions in determining his priorities. Moses regarded what was important and what was not important. Many people have never done that and that's why they're failures at life. They don't know why they are, they don't know what they want to accomplish in life, and they don't know what's really important. You need to establish values in life, things that you will build your life on, the things that will be important to you. The fact is if you don't decide what is important in your life, others will do it for you. Moses placed the value of know Christ ahead of all the treasures of Egypt. His priorities were clear.
The issue of difficulty. “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” How much are you willing to commit to seeing God’s purpose in your life becoming a reality? What gives a person staying power? You must visualize your goal, focus on it. From the time that God gave Moses the vision, of setting free an entire nation after 400 years of slavery to the time it was fulfilled and they were ready to go into the Promised Land it was 80 years. Could you wait that long and not give up? Most of us get impatient because we have to wait 5 minutes in line at the grocery store. Moses was sustained through every trail because he kept his focus on His great and Mighty King. He ran the race – with all its twists and turns – but he finished well. He persevered because he fixed his eyes on Jesus.
All of us are undoubtedly riding towards the finish line. We are all on different places of the track. Maybe you’re at the starting line and just starting your race. Or perhaps you’re coming around the last bend and you can already see the finish line. But before you go any further, perhaps the wisest thing for you to do is stop and double check – Are You Sure You Are Riding the Right Horse?
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
Two Kentucky farmers who owned racing stables had developed a keen rivalry. One spring each of them entered a horse in a local steeplechase. Thinking that a professional rider might help him outdo his friend, one of the farmers engaged a crack professional jockey. Finally the day of the race came. The horses all entered the starting cage and everyone heard the bell, signaling the start of the race. “And they’re off!” said the announcer over the loudspeaker. The two horses were neck and neck with a significant lead over the rest of the pack. But suddenly, just as they were rounding the last turn one of the horses slipped and bumped into the other one. Both fell, unseating their riders. When the rest of the pack caught up to them it was complete mayhem on the track with several other horses tripping and falling. Realizing the outcome of the race was still not determined; the professional jockey remounted quickly and rode on to win the race. Returning triumphantly to the paddock, the jockey found the farmer who had hired him fuming with rage. “What's the matter?” the jockey asked. “I won, didn't I?” “Oh, yeah,” roared the farmer. “You won all right, but you crossed the finish line on the wrong horse.” In his hurry to remount after the fall, the jockey had jumped on his competitor's horse. It doesn’t make a difference if you finish first if you’ve been riding the wrong horse in the race!
Too many people end up at the finish line realizing they have been living for the wrong things in life. The Bible provides us with many great examples of how we can avoid making such a terrible mistake. One such example is the life of Moses. In the passage above, Moses is spotlighted as a man who finished his race well. It teaches us there are four key issues that must be addressed in each of our lives:
The issue of identity. “By faith, Moses, when he had grown up refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” Moses was born a Hebrew slave but he was raised as Pharaoh's grandson in Pharaoh's palace, which was the most opulent place in the world at that time. Talk about a guy with an identity crisis! He had to decide: Who am I? Am I Jewish or am I Egyptian? Am I a slave? Or am I royalty? The answers to those questions would affect the rest of his life. Recognize the nature of his decision - the real issue is not, “Who do I want to be?” but “Who does God want me to be?” I’m convinced the reason many people get stuck in life – stuck in depression, anger, discouragement – is that they are still trying to force the issue “I want to be who I want to be!” and not really asking the question, “Who does God want me to be?” They get depressed or angry or discouraged when life doesn’t pan out the way they way they planned it. If your plans don’t line up with God’s plans – you’re going to get stuck. Moses insisted on being what God made him to be and no amount of peer pressure could convince him otherwise. You’ll avoid a lot of ulcers in this world if you just accept God’s plan for your life.
The issue of responsibility. “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.” Moses could have enjoyed the pleasures of sin – but notice what it says (for a short time) the pleasure of disobeying the Lord only last for a short time – and then it’s payday. You can choose sin, but God gets to choose the consequences to your choice. The pleasures of sin are short and always have a price tag attached to them. Moses accepted the fact that with leadership comes responsibility. He could have temporary pleasure being the next Pharaoh of Egypt or he could go do what God had called him to do and help the people who were in pain, who needed to be set free. He could have stayed there in pleasure and today no one would even have known Moses' name. He'd be some mummy in some tomb in Egypt. Nobody would even know who he is. But he chose the right thing. He accepted his responsibility and God used him greatly.
The issue of priority. “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Moses made some very wise decisions in determining his priorities. Moses regarded what was important and what was not important. Many people have never done that and that's why they're failures at life. They don't know why they are, they don't know what they want to accomplish in life, and they don't know what's really important. You need to establish values in life, things that you will build your life on, the things that will be important to you. The fact is if you don't decide what is important in your life, others will do it for you. Moses placed the value of know Christ ahead of all the treasures of Egypt. His priorities were clear.
The issue of difficulty. “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” How much are you willing to commit to seeing God’s purpose in your life becoming a reality? What gives a person staying power? You must visualize your goal, focus on it. From the time that God gave Moses the vision, of setting free an entire nation after 400 years of slavery to the time it was fulfilled and they were ready to go into the Promised Land it was 80 years. Could you wait that long and not give up? Most of us get impatient because we have to wait 5 minutes in line at the grocery store. Moses was sustained through every trail because he kept his focus on His great and Mighty King. He ran the race – with all its twists and turns – but he finished well. He persevered because he fixed his eyes on Jesus.
All of us are undoubtedly riding towards the finish line. We are all on different places of the track. Maybe you’re at the starting line and just starting your race. Or perhaps you’re coming around the last bend and you can already see the finish line. But before you go any further, perhaps the wisest thing for you to do is stop and double check – Are You Sure You Are Riding the Right Horse?
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
posted by Larry | 4:20 PM
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