I was reading the account of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and was really convicted by the young donkey.
Yes, a donkey convicted me!
I grew up with horses, so I know that it takes time to earn the trust of a young horse in the breaking process.
Horses see people as predators.
If you go up to an unbroken horse and hop on their back, they will see it as an attack and you will get launched.
You will be the one broken, not them.
The breaking process is about building a trusting relationship with the horse so that they see you as friend not foe.
As they learn that you are ‘for’ them, they begin to want to join you and work with you and even carry you around.
Jesus skipped this whole process with the young, unbroken donkey.
The donkey intuitively trusted and surrendered to Him and carried Him through the streets of Jerusalem in fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9.
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
So, in light of this, I started asking the Lord questions to root out any lies against His character that I was still hanging onto.
‘Why do I balk at times to do what You direct me to do?’
Submission and trust go hand in hand.
Pride can also be a factor.
Pride says, “I want to do what I want to do and I don’t want anyone telling me otherwise.”
If I choose pride, I cannot experience intimacy with God.
He keeps proud people at a distance, but He is intimate with the humble who trust Him and are surrendered to do His will no matter what it is.
That young donkey should have ‘spooked’ at every palm branch and movement of the people lining the streets.
He should have bucked and ran off in a panic.
Instead, he trusted and submitted to Jesus ignoring the noise, palm branches and crowds of people.
‘Lord, what noise am I listening to instead of just focusing on what You are doing with me today?’
‘Lord, how do You want me to convey You to people today?’
‘Lord, how do You want to walk with me into fulfilling Your plan for me life today?’
I will be chewing on these questions with the Spirit today.
I hope this encourages and challenges you to interact with Him as the Spirit leads you today.
Blessings!
Robyn Henning