Psalm 32:1-11

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; …Be not like a horse or a mule which must be curbed with bit and bridle…”

The leadership of God is always present in our lives. The only question that remains is whether we will require a bit in our mouths to follow Him or acquire a different nature; one that hears and follows willingly.

The difference between the two is one of direction. The horse requires a bit and bridle or else “it will not stay near” its leader. It wills to move in a different direction, but is forcefully curbed by another. No one involved in that situation wants it to go down that way, and yet, thankfully, both benefit from the overriding will of the leader.

If the horse were to turn and walk in a new direction, one in agreement with its leader, we would call that repentance. And that’s precisely what we see take place in this Psalm. Repentance transforms a mule of a man into a glad, godly, blessed follower of the way he should go. It sounds like this: “I acknowledged my sin to you…I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

That step is the first step on a long, joy-filled journey where we not only end up where we belong but are truly blessed at every turn.