August 11, 2015
Born To Be Wild, Part 1
Gwen Smith
Today’s Truth
…Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)
Friend to Friend
Both his stature and demeanor were unimpressive to elite breeders. He was exercised with harsh tactics, under cruel restrictions and publicly dismissed by a professionally acclaimed trainer. Eventually the horse, Seabiscuit, became a wild, bitter, and angry animal that was considered worthless to the racing world and was sold for a very small price.
The new owner, a wealthy auto salesman, hired an experienced trainer to work with the racehorse… a man who others would no longer hire… a man who, like the horse, had been beaten up by life a bit. This new trainer had his hands chock full of rebellion with the stallion, but he patiently and painstakingly trained him as best he could. He watched closely as the small horse raced without heart on the track, and soon identified a major problem.
“They’ve got him so screwed up running in a circle, he’s forgotten what he was born to do. He just needs to learn how to be a horse again.”
So, in an effort to help the horse remember how to be a horse, the trainer had the jockey run him in open grassy fields. They took the horse back to his roots. Back to a place where space was plentiful and restrictions were but a simple fence. Back to a place of his first love: wild freedom. And by doing so, they awakened a fresh spark of purpose in the heart of Seabiscuit.
He went on to be a champion that ran like the wind.
There have been times in my life when I was so focused on limitations, distractions, doubts, and losses that I failed to see my possibilities. Times when I fixed my thoughts, my goals, my choices, and my habits on ways that led to death instead of life. Times when I lost sight of true vision – God’s awesome purpose for my life: to worship Him, to seek Him, to honor Him, and to obey Him… so that He might be glorified in and through every race I run.
Have you been there? Are you there now?
In order for Seabiscuit to run with the power and passion he was made to run with, he needed to remember that he was a wild stallion. The same is true for you and me. In order for us to live the lives we were born to live, our vision must be cast far beyond our restrictions and obstacles. Our vision must be fixed on the One who designed us to worship with wild abandoned… to live with wild freedom.
You were born to be wild, friend. Wild for Jesus. Wild with purpose. Wildly surrendered to the will of God. Wildly obedient His commands. Wildly led by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within you.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God… Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:1-2,12,13, ESV)
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, Thank You for promising restoration, redemption, and renewal to all who call on You. Help me to look beyond my failures, challenges, and limitations to Your abilities, healing power, and boundless love. Be my vision, Lord. Empower me to live in the wild freedom of Your grace and in the center of Your plan.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Now It’s Your Turn
Read Hebrews chapters 12-13 and underline or journal any verses that connect with or challenge your heart.
Let’s celebrate this wild calling today with a GiG POST PARTY! Choose to run like a champ today! Click over to my blog and POST a comment saying, “I was born to be wild for Jesus!” While you are partying and posting, pause to SHARE a few of the limitations, frustrations, and doubts that you sense the LORD is leading you to move beyond and then LISTEN to a song I co-wrote called Unbroken… that celebrates the indestructible, unchangeable, and endless love of God.
More from the Girlfriends
One of the best ways we can live purposed and powerful is to fix our hearts and minds on Jesus. Ready to fix your heart in his strength? I’m living proof that it is possible for anyone. God delights to deliver us from our hard places in and through the pain. Experience God’s healing and hope in your life today as you read Broken Into Beautiful. To order the book, go to Amazon, your favorite Christian bookstore, or for a signed copy, order from Gwen’s store.
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Girlfriends in God
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