My grandfather led his horse, Nellie, to a large area that needed to be tilled, and he prepared her to plow for the garden. I observed her as she plodded along, looking straight ahead. With my thumb hooked over my coverall pocket, and the other securing my straw hat on my head in the breeze, I watched Nellie move ahead. I said, "Grandpa, take those black things away from Nellie's eyes so that she can see better."

Grandpa answered, "We need the blinkers so Nellie doesn't look to the left or right, but straight ahead, and pays attention to where she is going." I followed alongside while Nellie slowly pulled in a straight row to till furrows into the rich soil in readiness for planting. As my five-year-old self padded along, stomping dirt clods with my bare feet, I thought for a minute about what he had said, and commented proudly, "You don't need to put blinkers on me. I know just exactly where I am going." I know that he must have shaken his head and smiled at the innocent confidence.

Proverbs 4:27a – Do not turn to the right or the left. (NKJV)

Grandpa knew that straight furrows were conducive to his purpose, so he prepared the horse by taking away the chance to be distracted. It was much easier to direct Nellie to plow straight rows by giving her a narrow and focused vision. Likewise, God knows that we need help to keep our life on the straight and narrow pathway, so He provided Scripture and the Holy Spirit to act as our blinkers.

Matthew 7:13-14 – Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (NIV)

We human beings are curious, imaginative, and creative. Our thoughts wander. We soon learn that we need to be reined in to focus on God's purpose at hand and the goals to reach it, based on prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, we think as a child and say, "I know exactly where I am going." For believers, that can be a spiritually destructive way to think. God knows that we need blinkers to direct our attention from childlike self-assurance to Christlike confidence.

Do you ever veer off course? If you are a believer in Christ, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to make you wise in this matter. Then, listen and obey His prompting.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we appreciate all the tools that You provide for the maturation that we need to reach the mark that You have set for us. Help us, Holy Spirit, to keep our heart, mind, and soul focused straight ahead to Your wisdom, and then to obey the instruction, to Your glory and honour. Amen.

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About the author:

Karen Milam <karenbmilam@gmail.com>
Penn Valley, California, USA
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