Many of us are familiar with the words of the song: “Reign in me, sovereign Lord, reign in me”, and have used it as a prayer of surrender. Today we were considering the meaning of the similar sounding word, “reins”. David used this word in Psalm 7: 9: “Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just, for the righteous God tries the hearts and reins”
In horse riding the reins are a piece of equipment attached to the bit in the horse’s mouth, held loosely in the rider’s hands as an aid to steer, or stop the horse, also to keep the horse round and in frame.
Have you ever been reined in by the Lord and, in retrospect, been thankful? We can make a decision before the Lord, believing it is a right one, and then circumstances come our way that either, abort, the decision, or the Lord redirects us to another route to change direction. It is wonderful to see, in the sovereignty of God’s mercy and grace, how He sometimes overrules our choices that are not in line with His purpose, when we do what we do, “as unto the Lord”. God reins us in!It is necessary to understand God’s sovereignty in our lives and be thankful when He blocks our plans. God’s ways and thoughts are much higher than ours. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts”, Isaiah 55:8-9. Instead of fighting God in frustration, His desire is for us to surrender to His plan which He will reveal in His perfect timing.
The world says that hindsight is a wonderful thing, but God’s view is that faith is a wonderful thing. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for those that come to Him must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” In the trial of our faith, God tests us with His reins. There is purpose in the trial. It is here where faith in Him is tried as we learn to trust Him with our lives in God’s “waiting room”. The waiting room is not a place to stagnate, but to grow in God. Just like a young plant, the roots develop underground in the dark, unseen to anyone but its Creator. Here the life source is developed for another day, a glorious day when it grows into the beauty of what it was created to be.
(Bill Britton was inspired of God to write a little booklet, “The Harness of the Lord”. It is greatly anointed and has blessed, and continues to bless, those who read it. It can easily be found on the internet for reading. Just type the title into your search engine.) There is no better place to be than in the harness of the Lord. He who holds the reins has safe hands. When He slackens the reins, He gifts me with His peace to go forward. When He tightens the reins of circumstance, His peace is disturbed in my being and I stop in the direction I am going. His reins redirect me to the right path of His plan and purpose, and His peace is restored again within.
Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins…..” As the Lord searches our hearts, may we continue to surrender and pray, “Reign in me, sovereign Lord, reign in me…
Photo by Cristina Anne Costello on Unsplash
