Several months ago the Lord instructed me to pay close attention to one of our horses whose name is Happy. I had a very clear impression that God was going to reveal more of His nature and character to me through this horse. Happy is the alpha horse, which means that he rules the herd. The alpha gets to call the shots. He "tells" the other horses what to do and keeps them in line. Happy has the "job" of teaching the younger horses the rules of horse society. As a general rule, the horses go out of their way to respect and "obey" the alpha horse.
As I've observed Happy, I've noticed is that he always uses the least amount of force necessary when dealing with the herd. The other horses actions determine how much force he uses. For example, one of the ponies, Wesley, continually challenges Happy's leadership. On this particular day, Wesley did not move when Happy told him to therefore, Happy lowered his head, flattened his ears and tilted his nose towards Wesley, which is a phase one rebuke. Wesley stood his ground. Happy began swinging his head towards Wesley in an attempt to drive him back (phase two). Wesley dared to remain stationary. Happy then, forced by Wesley's disrespect, charged him (phase three). Wesley quickly trotted away then turned to face Happy, which is a sign of disrespect and lack of submission. Happy immediately bit Wesley's hindquarters and drove him away (phase four). Happy did this several times until Wesley no longer turned and challenged his authority. Once Happy had accomplished his goal-submission. He was satisfied that Wesley had learned his lesson and turned his attention elsewhere.
I was quite impacted by the relentless pursuit of this alpha horse. Happy understood that it was in Wesley's best interest to change his attitude. It wasn't enough for this little pony to halfway obey. Happy "understood" that Wesley's pride and rebellion was dangerous for Wesley and the herd. He knew that Wesley needed to submit to his leadership and did not allow him to continue in this unhealthy behavior. And God deals with us in much the same way-He uses the least amount of pressure to get our attention, allowing us to make the choice. When we choose our way over His, defy His leadership or go astray, He doesn't ignore it, but "goes after us" because He loves us and wants only the best for us and those we love.
I want to share one more experience I had with Happy, which shocked not only me, but also those watching. Princess is what you would call the Omega pony-she's the last pony on the totem pole. She gets left out and overlooked and pushed around by all of the other horses. One evening, Princess was standing at the gate when Happy walked up. For some unknown reason, Princess turned her rear towards Happy in the way horses do when they are communicating that they don't want you to come near them. Several of us were walking by when she did this. Surprised that this little pony was challenging Happy, we stopped to watch. Happy continued his approach. Suddenly, Princess started backing up and kicking as hard as her little legs would kick. To our complete astonishment, Happy backed up allowing her to drive him away. She drove him back about ten feet before stopping. We could not believe our eyes! I had never seen Princess challenge him so blatantly much less drive him away. And I had never seen Happy allow any of the horses to rule over him like this. The astonishing thing wasn't so much that she drove him away, but the fact that He allowed her to do so. He was merciful to her-just one kick from him would be enough to seriously hurt her or worse.
Princess left Happy standing there and came back to the gate. Liana and I stood with our mouths hanging open when Happy walked forward and Princess once again drove him away. Her little legs kicking up as high as they could. Once more, Happy allowed her to drive him back. She repeated this behavior three more times before Happy finally remained at a distance.
I could not get over it-why did Happy allow this little pony to drive him away? With just one kick Happy could have put Princess in her place, but he didn't do it. Why? I stood watching and wondering. About thirty minutes passed when Princess turned away from the gate and slowly made her way towards Happy.
She nonchalantly nibbled on grass pretending like she wasn't interested in Happy. He stood grazing completely aware of her approach. Princess finally came alongside Happy. I wondered how he would respond to her. As she carefully grazed beside him he turned his head and stroked her neck. She responded in like manner. For about one to two minutes the two horses gave each other the equivalent of a hug. I was undone! Happy did not reprimand her or drive her away. He didn't make her earn the right to be in relationship with him. Instead, he embraced her as if nothing had happened. I watched as the two joined the other horses.
I could not get this scene out of my mind-Happy allowing Princess to drive him away and then welcoming her back without so much as a nip or stern look. And believe me, Happy is really good at correcting his herd with "the look" (mom's you all know about the look). Later that evening, God began speaking to me about this. He showed me how He is like that with us. When we rise up in rebellion, wanting to live our lives our way, He takes a step back and another and another as we drive him away. Then, when the day comes and we come to our senses, He welcomes us back into sweet fellowship with not so much as a harsh word. Some of us have the idea that God is so holy that He cannot be in the presence of sinful man. That sin separates us from God-it does, but only if we drive Him away like Princess did Happy.
Jesus said that He was the exact representation of the Father…did Jesus avoid sinful men? Did He reject the woman caught in adultery? What about the rich young ruler? What about the Samaritan woman who was living in sin? What about Judas…calling him "friend" even as Judas sealed His betrayal with a kiss? Jesus spent most of His time with sinners and was called "a friend of sinners" by the religious leaders. God loves sinners! We are all sinners. If God separated Himself from sinners none of us would ever be able to come to Him because we all came to Him as a sinner. God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. He is good to all men. It is the loving-kindness of God (not His anger, or rebuke, or His "look") that leads men to repentance. He is abounding in loving-kindness, compassionate, slow to anger, forgiving iniquities and transgressions to a thousand generations.
If you have the fear that God doesn't want to fellowship with you because you aren't good enough, I am here to tell you that the opposite is true. He came for sinful men. Jesus left perfection to live among us so that He could demonstrate for us just how much God wants to be with us. He welcomes us into His arms in whatever state we are in and says, "Welcome home. I've missed you! I love you just the way you are! You're good enough for me!"
And so it is, on Our Father's Farm, the horse ministry is touching not only those who come, but also us…in a profound way. I am discovering a revelation of my wonderful Father!
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He cause His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.
For His Glory Alone, Danny and Rhonda
