Another Perspective Let God take the reins to discover true success.
ally from some religious acquaintance who has little concept of the unconditional love of God and His immense interest in every facet of our lives. Usually, my answer goes something like this: “He
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enjoys it! After all, it was His idea.” That generally raises the religious hackles on the back of their necks or just leaves them dumbfounded. But let me explain. The Bible says in James 1:17 that every good and
By Chaplain Sam Ed Spence, Race Track Chaplaincy of Texas
perfect gift comes from the Father of lights. God cre- ated these beautiful, four- footed animals for the enjoy- ment of His man, who was the epitome of His creation. It didn’t take God by sur- prise the first time a couple of boys decided to find out whose mount could get to the water well first. Now that first race might well have been on donkeys or camels. But I’ll give you pretty good odds that it didn’t take long for them to figure out it was a whole lot more fun—and faster—on horseback. I’ll also wager that when
God led the horse before Adam to see what he would name it, there was no tag around his neck saying “Thou shalt not race, nor shalt thou enjoy.” God knew exactly what was in store for this equine creation, and it was a lot more than to simply be a beast of burden for man. Throughout the second chapter of Genesis, in which
God reiterated the creation scene and re-emphasized that Adam was to “take dominion” over all the crea- tures, one gets the distinct impression that this whole endeavor was for the benefit and enjoyment of man. Yet, most organized religion has done its best to convince us that life with God is dull, confining and certainly not much fun. Nothing could be further from the truth. But that misconception is primarily the
hat does God think of horse racing?” I get that question ever so often, usu-
reason I spent the first 34 years of my life avoiding any commitment to walk with Him. Ironically, the “fun” I thought I was having resulted in
a heart attack at the unseemly age of 31. Even after God spoke to me some two years later in the most loving way imaginable, I still refused to give up the sin and pres- sures in my life that were leading to sure destruction—I just knew He was wanting to take away all my fun! And I’ve got a pretty good notion that each of us either thinks that way or did at one time in our life. On two different one-on-one conversations with train- ers, I’ve had the Holy Spirit speak these words to me: “Tell him that if he will let Me be the head trainer, I’ll lead him to heights he’s not even dreamed of!” Now did that mean the trainer was going to win every race he entered? Probably not. But I do think the Lord wanted to have a relationship with these guys (both were already believers) that would have taken them to a whole ’nother level, a place of enjoyment and peace in their profession and their lives they had never imagined. To my knowledge, neither trainer took God up on
His offer. Perhaps they were afraid God would take the fun out of it. But think about it. This is the Creator of the horse—
the One who knows it inside out and knows exactly how to get the very best out of that animal—and He wants to share it with you! Someone will say, “Was God playing favorites with these guys?” Absolutely not. The Bible says in 2 Chron- icles 16:9, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. God is making that offer to let Him be the head trainer in the life of every trainer, every owner, every groom, every individual. In the eleventh chapter of Matthew, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from me.” How does God feel about horse racing? He enjoys it.
But more important, He loves you, and wants you to enjoy racing with Him.