Friday, April 19, 2024
Many people have the idea that being a cowboy means riding around on a good horse in beautiful country every day. But on most outfi ts, you have to put in your time driving a tractor, feed truck, or Heaven forbid, a 4 wheeler.
When I worked in Wyoming, I was horseback most days but I did get delegated the job of drag-gin hay fields. We would pasture our alfalfa fields in the winter, then drag them with a harrow to knock down the cowpatties so they wouldn’t dull the swather blades. It wasn’t so bad. I turned the radio and heater on in the cab of the tractor, and just drove back and forth.
Many of our fields were a mile long so it took a long time to make much progress at fi fteen feet per pass. I would never have made a good farmer because I couldn’t seem to drive a straight line. Sometimes it was hard to tell where I’d been by looking at the ground in front of me, so I’d look over my shoulder. I could plainly see where I’d been by looking back, but it made my driving even more crooked. I don’t know why, but if I looked behind, my arm automatically turned the wheel. When I’d look ahead again, I was off track, and getting worse.
There’s no telling how many extra trips I made across those fields because I couldn’t drive straight. But there’s a trick to it: pick a spot at the end of the field and stay focused on that spot, then you can drive much straighter. By concentrating on where I was headed, instead of where I’d been, I didn’t have to be looking over my shoulder all the time. My neck didn’t hurt as much, either. Hebrews 12:1-2 says “..let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Most people spend more time looking at their past than where they’re headed. But wherever you’re looking, that’s where you’re going to end up. Who wants to repeat the painful mistakes of the past? The Bible compares life to a race. How can we run a race with sin and weights holding us back?
We try to climb mountains with rocks in our pockets and wonder why we get tired and can’t fi nish. The past is the past. If you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior, you’re forgiven. Empty the rocks out of your pockets and run the race with confi dence.
Fix your eyes on Jesus and you’ll be able to run straight. And remember, if you’ve given up on church but you haven’t given up on God, come try Triple Cross Cowboy Church.
