Testing the reins

‘I try the reins.’
The Bible speaks of horses often, in all honesty I can’t help wonder if they are God’s favorite creation, He seems so proud of them. When God says ‘I try the reins’ and He is speaking of the reins of our hearts it makes me think of my days before my riding accident. Back then I would get on any horse and usually after doing the basic warm up, the ‘trying of the reins’ I could tell what the horse was thinking and how he was feeling. I could tell if something was wrong or if he was ready for a fight. The movement of his body and the tension of the rein in his mouth, how he reacted to the bit, if he strained against me or (heaven forbid) tried to take control of the bridle, all that sensation went into my hands and from the experience I knew how to react and what was happening with the several hundred pound animal beneath me. There were I days when something was clearly off so I got down and found what was wrong, a couple times he seemed to be in pain but I couldn’t find why so I gave up on the ride to spare him discomfort. I know many people who have had bad falls and later said that they knew the horse was in a fight mood and they shouldn’t have gotten on. My bad fall was a stupid mistake and not my horse’s fault at all. God tests our reins. He tests our hearts and tells what we are thinking, planning and feeling. He tests what we are ready for and what should be saved for a later date. He senses if we are fighting the bit or are just too afraid to go forward. He can tell it all and knows when to be gentle with us because something is wrong or painful, He knows when to let us calm down so we don’t do something stupid in an effort to fight back, He knows when all we need is a nose scratch and a bucket of oats. God knows everything about us, simply from testing our reins. And He loves us enough to go forward gently or with conviction depending on what we are ready for. Isn’t that a nice thought?