Don’t Be Like That

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you. 

Psalm 32:8-9 

We want God to instruct, lead, and guide us. We also resist Him when He leads us down certain roads to do particular things. This presents an occasion of conflict between God’s will for us and our personal preferences. Thus He leads us in a certain direction and we balk. In our text, God has promised to instruct, lead, and guide us. He adds the second portion as a caution to us. He points to the horse and mule and says, ‘Don’t be like that.’ In the day in which David wrote this psalm the illustration of the behavior of the horse and mule would have been ever present. They only submit to guidance as it suits their mood. To successfully guide them consistently requires a bit and bridle. The reason God gives for their behavior is that they have no understanding. He contrasts them to us who arguably do have understanding. Thus, ‘Don’t be like them.’ Christ is the example for us of submitting His will to the leadership of His Father. He was not as the horse or mule. He always did those things that pleased the Father. In addition to being our Savior, He is also our example of how to interact with God, especially in these harder matters of His leading us into places we perhaps do not want to go. If God led Christ there and He went without coercion, we can learn from Him how to do.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You lead us in the right way. 
We praise You that Christ is our example. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning