In prayer recently ,I once again claimed my surrender to Christ, asking Him to “take the reins” of my life. I thanked Him for the lessons I’ve learned when I’d tried to steer the horse of my life without His direction, thanked my vessel for being such a trooper in what I’d put her through. I told her that here on out, we’d love her and Jesus well, as we continued to surrender our life daily to the only One who truly had any control over it, and cares about my life more than anyone.

I pretty immediately saw a way prettier version of the below in my mind’s eye. In spirit, I saw me trying to hand the reins to Him who was most qualified to take lead. He received them…but then He handed one back to me.

The suspicion that perhaps He trusts OUR judgement, as I surrender this “ride” to him, crossed my mind.

Certainly, The Word tells us to “lean not on our own understanding, but in all ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) We SHOULD seek Him in all of our purposes, “praying without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). But here’s the thing: The Holy Spirit resides in US, He and I, we, us. We’ve been given conscience. We’ve been given “gut checks”. We have His written word to test against, and we’re encouraged to “test the spirits” (1 John 1:4) to ensure they’re of God.

All of this was so we would be aware of His presence and desires, and make solid vessel decisions based on what He’s shown us in spirit and in word. Could it be, that when we surrender our purposes to Him, what He said is true? Could it be that He trusts our judgement when it’s rooted in Him? Could it be that this is a partnership, an invitation to experience the greatest adventure in this life, WITH Him? Could it be that He expects the best of us, rather than assuming the worst, as we so often do in our blindness?

Jesus is welcoming us to join Him for the adventure of a lifetime. This lifetime IS an adventure. We can choose to play an active role in its outcome, and He trusts, even encourages us, to step out in faith and do so.

Today, let’s not give the horse of life its head. Our loving savior has beautiful pastures and still waters for our horse to graze and enjoy. Let’s let Him lead us on paths of righteousness for His name’s sake, and if He surprises us with a detour, pulling on His side of the reins, let’s trust Him. And….if we see something pretty we know he’d enjoy as well…let’s not be afraid to pull on our side of the reins too, drawing OUR attention to the beauties that we see.