A man puts a bridle upon the horse, saddles him, and rides
away whither he will. The horse may desire to rest quietly
under the shade of a tree. He cannot do that; he is
bridled. The bridle is controlled by another will. The
horse would go south, but his head is turned north by the
bridle and the way he is turned he must go. Now, the horse
is much stronger than the man. If he should exert his
strength and exercise his own will he might overcome the
will of the man. He might nullify the power of the halter
and the bridle. Sometimes this occurs. But in general the
horse has been haltered and bridled so often that he has
yielded to the mastery of these things. He does not exert
his own strength or his own will as he could. All his life
therefore he is mastered. He can only be a servant, very
unlike his fellows in wild freedom upon the prairie.
It is not alone horses who wear halters and bridles. There
are men and women all about us wearing them. Circumstances
halter many people and tie them up within narrow limits,
restricting their freedom, shutting them off from the good
things of life, making their lives narrow, and often very
unsatisfactory. There are other circumstances that bridle
people and force them to go whither they would not go.
Many times people act against their own best judgment and
against their wills. They are victims of circumstance,
just as much as the horse is the victim of the halter.
Their lives are just as restricted as the lives of the
horses. How often we permit circumstances—our feelings,
our fears, our doubts, to strap a halter upon us and lead
us about whither we would not go, and tie us up somewhere
so that it seems we cannot get away.
Many people realize that they are haltered, but like the
conquered horse they think they are securely held by the
halter. They long for freedom. They desire to be
unrestricted. They want freedom of expression, freedom of
action, liberty to do as they choose, to turn their lives
into the channels that would yield them greater happiness
and contentment. But alas, they are haltered. So they look
at their halter of circumstances, of feelings, of doubts,
of fears, and say, "Oh, I can't help it," then
cease to try to help it.
Some horses will pull back on their halters for a few
times but not sufficiently to break them. Thinking they
are securely fastened the horses cease to try to get
loose. We humans do the same. We make some slight efforts
to overcome our circumstances and to do the things we
really desire to do. We do not exert all our strength. We
try only half-heartedly. Then we conclude we cannot break
away and cease to try.
We surrender to circumstances. We permit them to have a
halter upon us through the years and we permit them to
bridle us and to ride us whither they will. Life is a
bondage to circumstances.
Man was never meant to wear a halter. We are told that
when man was created God set him over the work of his
hands. God made man master of things. He intended that man
should always be master—master of himself, master of his
circumstances. Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free" (John 8: 32). And
again, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye
shall be free indeed."
The Christian life is a life of freedom. It is therefore a
normal life. It is divinely given mastery. If we use the
liberty that is given us instead of wearing the halter of
circumstances it is our privilege to put the halter upon
circumstances and to master them. God wants us to be men
and women, to look circumstances straight in the face, to
assert our dominion over them. The attitude of God is
plainly shown in the Scriptures. Of Jesus it is said he
"hath made us kings and priests unto God and his
Father" (Rev. 1: 6). But does not that refer to
heaven? No. Chapter 5:10 says, "And hast made us unto
our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the
earth."
That does not mean some future reign. It is now and here,
as Paul tells us in Rom. 5: 17: "They which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, shall
reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." That means we
shall put the halter on our circumstances and our
difficulties and master them, bringing them into
subjection to our wills, asserting ourselves, thus
becoming triumphant Christians.
One may say that is all very well to talk about, but how
shall we do it? The answer of the Scripture is, "This
is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith." With our two hands we may put the halter on
all our circumstances. These two hands are faith and
determination. Faith is very good, but it is not enough.
Works must go with faith. In the siege of Verdun in the
World War, when attacked by a greatly superior force,
taken by surprise, and at first driven back with heavy
losses, the French rallied and adopted the slogan,
"They shall not pass." With grim determination
and a courage that would not yield they held on until they
overcame.
Many times in our lives we shall have to say to
circumstances, "You shall not pass. You shall not
master me. I will not yield to you. I will overcome
you." Frequently people have tried to discourage
others by saying, "You cannot do that." The
answer of determination has been, "But I will do
it." Did you ever read the poem by Edgar Guest about,
"It couldn't be done—but he did it !"? Right
now perhaps someone may be saying, "Yes, that is the
way to do. That is the attitude to hold. I should like to
do that if—" Yes, there is the . What does it mean?
It means I have not the courage or the will to try. Very
well. Reach out your head and submit to the halter. You
have your choice. You can halter the circumstances or they
will halter you. We can be free men or slaves. We can
spend our days haltered in the stall, ridden where we do
not want to go; or we can use our strength and be free. It
is true that we cannot always change our circumstances. We
need not always change them or even frequently change them
to he free, to have the mastery over them and to be happy.
Circumstances do not make us nor break us. It is using
them or surrendering to them that determines the outcome.
So many say, "But my circumstances are so
unfavorable." That does not mean you need be defeated
by your circumstances. It only means an opportunity for
greater conquest. All real accomplishments in this world
are made, not because of circumstances, but in spite of
them. Every man who has become really great in
accomplishment, or in self-mastery has done so by
overcoming his obstacles and difficulties. This is the
very thing that has made him great and without these
things to overcome he never would have become great; his
powers would never have been developed.
It has been repeated that we should not pray for burdens
equal to our strength, but for strength equal to our
burdens. Happiness does not come from favorable
circumstances. The rich who are not compelled to work and
who may do as they choose with their time are rarely
happy. Shall we say, "If circumstances were more
favorable I could be happy"?
Are we sure of this? By no means. It takes more than
circumstances to make anyone happy. The secret of
happiness does not lie in circumstances. It lies in us.
Our circumstances may be unfavorable, but that does not
mean we must be unhappy. People are happy in circumstances
far more unfavorable than ours. One of the happiest, most
cheerful ladies whom I ever met I called upon in company
with others many years ago. We found her helpless in her
bed. She could move her head slightly from side to side
and move one hand a little. Rheumatism had made the
remainder of her body almost immovable. But her face was
radiant with joy. She told us how happy she was. We
marveled at it. For years she had been in this condition.
Still she was happy, cheerful, and rejoicing. When we
expressed our sympathy she said, "I am
contented." Circumstances, even such circumstances,
could put no halter on her.
There are faces that shine in the darkest night with the
beauty of an inner glory, with a joy that does not depend
upon circumstances. Perhaps you can think of others whose
circumstances are worse than yours, yet their lives seem
happier than yours. Why should this be true? Why should
you be less the master of your circumstances than they of
theirs? Resolve that you will no longer be dominated by
your feelings, your doubts, your fears, by your trials, or
your circumstances. If you have tamely submitted to these
in the past make a declaration of independence, start a
warfare to conquer them. Be tied up no longer by them.
Choose the direction of your own life. Faith and
determination, by God's help, will make you master and you
shall be free indeed and when you have gained that
freedom, when you are master of your circumstances, when
you have the halter on them, when you can tie them up, you
will have gained that victory over life and everything in
it that will start the joy-bells pealing. You will then
know the secret of the singing heart.
