You know, I love the Bible! It is fun to read. It is full of knowledge. It has great insight. It gives direction for our lives. I know, you are all saying to yourselves, “We all know that!” What you might not have figured out is it shows us God has a great sense of humor! That is right; God has a great sense of humor.
You can see it all around you. Have you ever watched monkeys play? God created them to play that way. Have you ever noticed how strange an old tree can look, twisted and gnarled with large bumps and its low hanging branches? God made it that way. Have you ever lay on your back and looked at the clouds, identifying their different shapes to be different animals or people? God made them that way. God has a sense of humor!
His sense of humor is even apparent in the Bible. Take some time, as you are reading, to notice it. Don’t be all stuffy and impressed with your own “religiosity” lighten up and enjoy the Word of God, because God made it that way. He has a sense of humor!
I was reading in the Bible the other morning, I have been dying to share this with somebody so I am sharing it with you, and I just had to laugh. The Bible told me not to be a mule. That’s right! The Bible said, and I quote: Psalms 32:9, “Be ye not …as the mule, which have no understanding…” I couldn’t believe it! God is telling me not to be like a dumb mule! That has just gotta make you laugh out loud!
I guess I had better put it all in context so that you can get something more than a laugh out of this. God is telling us that He will teach us how to deal with life. He will teach us His ways so that we will know how we need to live life. In fact He is telling us that He will guide us with His eyes.
What an offer! This is an incredible opportunity on our part! I have always thought I could deal with life a lot better if I just knew what life has to hold. If I could just see tomorrow, I would be much better prepared for it than I usually am. Now, I find God is offering to show me how to live for today. He is also showing me how to live for tomorrow. Then, He is offering to look to tomorrow and see what it holds for me so He can guide me through that day when it comes. What an opportunity!
How many days have I walked the floor worrying over tomorrow? How many times have I fallen to my knees and wept in fear over tomorrow? How many hours have I spent staring unseeing at nothing while my mind has conjured up all kinds of pictures of a dismal tomorrow? Ok! I know that I am the only one who has ever done these things, so just humor me, please. I don’t want to feel like the “Lone Stranger” here. I have done all of the above many, many times when I really didn’t need to.
If I could just realize the opportunity that God has presented to me as His child. An opportunity to take advantage of His guidance and foresight, I would be so much better off. The benefits that I would reap would be insurmountable. Yet, I can because it is mine to take advantage of.
The advantage of foresight is incredible. I was recently talking with a young man about a situation he was dealing with. As he laid out the situation and his choices I recognized it. I had been right where this young man was several years back. I was facing very similar choices and options. Unfortunately I did not have foresight. Those I sought advice from had never been in those situations so they did not have the foresight to lead me in the way I needed to take. Consequently I dealt with some things that I wouldn’t have had to deal with if I had but known. So here I was, able to talk to this young man and give him some insight on where these choices would take him. I was amazed myself when he followed my advice and things went just as I had told him they would. (By the way, it doesn’t always happen that way!)
How wonderful to be able to rely on God for direction. How wonderful that He cares about us enough to give us that opportunity. He is able and willing to teach us, to lead us and to guide us in the way we should go.
I know, you are wondering where the mule comes in? I remember when I was a young evangelist I stayed with Pastor and Sister Kenneth Bledsoe in Oroville, California. At their offer, I used their home as a base between revivals in order to save money from traveling all the way back to Mom and Dad’s. Now Pastor Bledsoe had an old Quarter horse that someone had given to him. This horse had been used in rodeos as a roping horse and then finally retired and given away. I think his name was Red. Don’t hold me to that because this was about thirty three years ago, my memory is fading.
Now Red was a good ole horse. He still had a lot of spunk and he still loved to run. The only problem was Red had been mainly ridden by children for the past several years so when he got tired, he just refused to go. He would walk over to a corner of the field and face the corner just standing there. It took a real strong hand on the reigns to control him and make him go where you wanted him to go.
I wonder how many times I have been an ole Red. How many times has God looked down at me and said, “Boy! I wish you weren’t so much like an ole mule! I wish you just listen a little bit, it would sure save you a lot of heart ache!” He tugs, He pulls but so often I get a stubborn idea and head for the corner of the field to just stand there. Frustration sets in because I feel like I am getting nowhere. I feel trapped and helpless. I am in a situation and it is all because I am acting like a mule. It sure makes sense now when God says, ““Be ye not …as the mule, which have no understanding…” I have got to change that!
I am reminded of a story about the old farmer that sold his neighbor a mule. A few days later the neighbor dropped back by and said, “Homer I can’t get that mule to do anything! It just stands there.” Well, old Homer said, “I have to go to town this afternoon, so I will stop by and see what I can do.” That afternoon Homer stopped by and walked into the field where the neighbor had the mule hitched to plow. The ole mule was standing under a shade tree and it was obvious the neighbor was worn out and it was also obvious the mule wasn’t budging out from under that shade tree. Now Homer walked up to the mule and looked him right in the eye. Then he reached down and picked up a branch that was about as big around as his wrist, lying under that tree. Homer drew back and hit that mule right between the eyes with all of his might. The ole mule almost went to his knees, shook his head back and forth a bit as his eyes rolled around. Homer walked behind the plow grabbed the reigns and said, “Giddup there ole mule!” That mule took off a plowing at a real brisk pace. Down to the end of the row and back again with no hesitation. When they returned to the amazed neighbor he said, “Why did you hit him like that?” Ole Homer just kind of looked at him with a little grin and said, “He’s a good ole mule, but you just have to get his attention first!”
Well, sometimes when I act the part of the mule, God just has to get my attention first, and then everything seems to work better.
God Bless!
