I want to be like a horse #2...

Job 39:19-25

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse its strength
    or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
²⁰ Do you make it leap like a locust,
    striking terror with its proud snorting?
²¹ It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,
    and charges into the fray.
²² It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
    it does not shy away from the sword.
²³ The quiver rattles against its side,
    along with the flashing spear and lance.
²⁴ In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
    it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
²⁵ At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’
    It catches the scent of battle from afar,
    the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

How do I say this?  I wish I was a horse.

The verse above is a direct quote from the mouth of God.  Praise like this is reserved for one animal, and one alone.  The horse.  I don’t think there is any doubt even in a cursory reading of Scripture that the horse is the favorite animal of God.  Sure, the lion is right up there.  But the way he takes time to describe the attributes of the horse from its physique to its psyche tells me something.

Here are two more ways I wish I was like the horse based on this verse. Yesterday I covered the first two:

“Laughs at fear; afraid of nothing” – At first this sounds put on. It’s hard to believe the fearless life is possible, that it even exists.  But for just a second I want to imagine that it’s actually plausible to be dauntless, to literally face anything without fear coiling around you like a boa constrictor.  To say I want that kind of spirit is the biggest understatement ever because I literally daydream about losing all my anxiety and insecurity and being daring and bold and stouthearted.  To laugh at the intrusion of fear’s voice and to send it back to the pit of hell from whence it came.  To look at things that illicit terror in order to make me afraid and to stare them down and send them packing.  What a life this would be!  Fear can either stop me or stall me more than I care to admit. I want to have such a confidence in God that all my doubt and dismay dissipate in the light of his awesome presence abiding inside me.  I want to laugh at fear, like the horse.

“Does not shy away from the sword” – In a world that avoids suffering and struggle and doesn’t think any cause is worthy of one’s life or even death, I want to embrace the reality of peril that is all around me and enter into it.  I don’t want to be a coward cowering away from hard things or painful things hoping someone else will take the risk and brave the unknown.  I see this phrase and it almost seems impossible to not be afraid to die as long as you believe in what you’re dying for.  Whether this is spiritually laying down your life for people or actually laying your life down for God, the “laid down life” is the life I long to live.  And when you decide to lay down your life for people, it is a decision to have swords swung at you, lancing you and sometimes even piercing you through.  Because of sin, we were born into battle and the sooner I can accept that and take my place in the battle to bring redemption to what’s been broken or lost, the better.  But that means facing the sword on many a day, and I don’t want to shy away from the sword, like the horse.

Tune in tomorrow as I continue to work through this amazing passage about the attributes of God’s favorite animal, the horse.