Many of us guys grew up watching rodeos on the television. It seemed like every weekend there was a rodeo on that was in Mesquite, Texas. Donny Gay was the voice of the rodeo and it was fun to sit down and watch it with dad each weekend.
I’ve always been a fan of rodeos. In college, I worked for the UT-Martin’s rodeo team and got to see first hand how rodeos were organized and all the work it took to host one of the largest college rodeos in the country.
Now the best part of rodeos was the actual competing of the cowboys (and cowgirls). The most anticipated event was always the last event, bull riding. First of all, you have to be nuts to get on a massive beast and try to stay on it. These guys did it. They trained constantly, every day, to be able to ride these animals for 8 seconds. These guys would hop on the back of the bull, the chute would open, and off they went. It seemed that more often than not, they got thrown off fairly quick. Sometimes these cowboys would get gracefully thrown off the bull and then sometimes they would fall, get trampled, and seriously injured. You know, these guys may get carried off on a stretcher, stay a while in the hospital, but they never gave up on their goal. They would always be back as fast as possible, right back on the bull, trying to win the buckle.
We need to treat our Christian life the same as bull riders do their rodeo circuit. There are things in our life that tend to drag us down, throw us on the ground, and trample us until we are unable to function. As humans, sometimes it can be second nature to just sit back and let things pile up on us and sink us. We have too much pride to ask for help, we just keep drowning in our worldly issues.
When we have been drug through the mud, we need to remember to God is just a prayer away. Instead of thinking we can handle it on our own, we need to pull ourselves up and give it all to God. He can help us get through any situation if we have faith in Him. No matter how many times the devil tries to convert our souls to sin, God will help pull us up and put us back on our feet.
So, if you are getting bucked off your life rodeo and trampled on, we can help. We can pray for you, pray with you, and help you get up and try again. We must not throw in the towel when we are faced with trials but we must stand firm and if we fall we must get back up and continue to fight. God is a forgiving God and He will forgive you and help you stay strong.
Like the persistence with the bull riders goal to ride 8 seconds, we must be persistent in our drive to follow Christ. If we are, we will be rewarded with eternal life with Him.
God is Good.
30 Second Thoughts 