Convinced

Are you convinced?

How do we become convinced?

How important is it to be convinced?

LESSON 7:  Light Hold

Nitro...he's convinced winter needs to be over...

In this lesson, I was learning to lunge Nitro.  This is where you take a 'lunge rope' which is very long, and you attach it to the horse's halter and teach them to go in a circle around you.  You signal them to stop, change direction, speed up, or slow down.  We were in the arena, and I was learning how important my body position is and how 'light my hold' was on the lunge rope to guide Nitro.  As I became more fearful (usually when Nitro would speed up or just take off) I would hold tightly to the rope...like I could hold a 1000 pound animal with this rope... But that was what I was doing.  It's funny now to look back at what I must have looked like....

Moving on...so, the lesson was to learn to keep a 'light hold' on the rope, hence Nitro, and direct his movements.

Hmmm, a light hold....remind you of anyone?

I am reminded of my February 27 reading in Jesus Calling from Psalm 73:23; I Corinthians 10:13 that reads "As your circumstances consume more and more of your attention, you are losing sight of Me."

I would rely more and more on 'me', my strength....and guess what....I'm not as strong as I used to be.

So, the harder I pull against the lunge or lead rope, the harder Nitro pulls against me.

Life lesson...application...ding ding...

That has been my life---when conflict or resistance---more Cindy needed.  

Here is the 'Cindy Life Diagram'

Thing, Person   +    Compare to Me  +   Change Cindy  = Happiness
or
Event

God is redeeming me from the 'Change Cindy' part of this formula.

Lesson is to relax my hand, relax my arm and allow Nitro to be guided into the lunge, not forced (I can't muscle a 1000 pound horse)...(I can't muscle my life, I can't change every aspect of my life, I am not in charge...)

I am reminded of Eve when the serpent came to her and CONVINCED her that God didn't really say "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" (Genesis 3:1).  As Francis of Assisi advised "As a result, the gate of virtue being abandoned and the door of wickedness being open, he gave the devil a way to come in."  Eve was CONVINCED that she could become more like God by defying God's authority, by taking God's place and deciding for herself what was best for her life.  "Self-exaltation leads to rebellion against God" footnote in Life Application Study Bible.  Here, Satan tried to make Eve think that sin is good, pleasant, and desirable.  People usually choose wrong things because they have become CONVINCED that those things are good, at least for themselves.

My question to you is...what are you CONVINCED about?  How are your life choices working for you?  Human beings were created to be able to think about what they are thinking about...think about it...animals are purely stimulus/response....this is where transformation happens.

I am CONVINCED He is able...are you?