I want to be like a horse #3...

 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 a couple more ways I wish I was like the horse based on this verse:

“In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground” – Lately I’ve been waking up with a spirit of anticipation, but I’m sad to say that it’s not been the norm for the better part of my life.  So many days I roll out of bed melancholy and morose, in a sleepy stupor of stagnation.  When I read this instinct of the horse, I think about “attacking life”.  Life doesn’t happen to me; I happen to life.  I love being a part of exciting things, but I long to be excited and exciting myself.  To not wait for something exciting to occur, but to bring that to life, to show up jacked up.  To not simply endure, but to enjoy. The term ‘frenzied excitement’ stirs my blood.  I think of a small child on Christmas morning giggling with a clenched jaw trying to contain the joy that is intoxicating them, ready to blow like a volcano.  This is an fiery life we’re talking about here, a life that explodes off the blocks and hits the ground running.  I know that every day can’t be like this, but this is the posture I would like to say characterizes me as I mature.  I want to eat up the day and attack it with frenzied excitement, like the horse.

“Striking terror with its proud snorting’” – I’m not about picking fights, but I do think when it comes to our fight against the principalities and powers under the authority of Satan, I would like to be on the offense more than defense.  When I wake up in the morning I want Satan and his demons to say, “Oh, crap!”  I want the way I live life to cause a stir in hell, to catch them off guard on some days and to give them fits.  I would love to be such a fierce force for the kingdom, that it would strike terror in the dark realm.  In the same way that the demons shuttered in the presence of Jesus and fled at the mention of his name, I would love for my life to cause a similar response.  I’m tired of feeling dominated by diabolical emotions and conditions, I want to feel dominion for a change, a strength of spirit that is proactively agitating the schemes of the enemy and foiling them with my fearsome heart.  I want my ‘snort’ to strike terror in the enemy, like the horse.

Tomorrow I will wrap up this 4-part entry on the things we can learn from the psyche of the horse as it relates to living well for the glory of God.  If you haven't read the first two entries, check out the last couple days and catch up.  It's been fascinating to me.