A New Day with Janie T. (#07)

Harnessing The Wind Of The Holy Spirit

           It is springtime here in Idaho. Much of the time spring is accompanied by some strong winds. Wind is a pain sometimes when the farmers want to get the early crops in the ground. Many times the wind is destructive. But other times it is so needed to dry out the soil so that the planting can be done. Oh if we could harness the wind when we need to!

   In one way the wind is being harnessed. Big windmills are dotting the land now.  In the harnessing of the wind, power is being produced. The electrical power will be used in many different ways to ease our country’s need for more electricity.

A definition of Harness is:  originally_ armor for a man or horse
2: to bring into a condition for producing power.

What do you think of when you hear the word “Harness”?

 The picture that comes to my mind (as a child) is seeing the work horses, dripping with sweat, in their harnesses all lined up at the hitching post at noontime when the guys would come for dinner, that’s (Nebraska vernacular) for noon meal. The horses would be tired already from a hard morning’s work. One of the fun things was running my fingers through the foamy sweat that was oozing out from under the harness on those exhausted horses.

Later in my early-married years, I think of going out to harness two huge, stout draft horses.  One of them was a beautiful tall Clydesdale and the other was a shorter obnoxious Percheron.  The Percheron had a habit of making life miserable for the Clydesdale. He would hang back when it was time to start the wagon rolling. He would reach over and bite the other horse on the neck and pester him all the time they were together. But Clyde was all about getting the cattle fed.

Getting these two guys harnessed and (all their power) meant the steers would be fed and there might be a reward in store. That was “loading up the boys” and going for a jeep ride in the evening. It was worth fussing with “Chub” (the obnoxious Percheron) to go on a fun outing.

It was quite a task for this little lady to get those heavy harnesses on those huge horses. It was a good thing they were patient with me and an old wooden box was sturdy enough to hold me up to get the job done.

The object of harnessing these horses was so that I could make them go where I needed to go, not where they wanted to go. The horses’ job was moving the wagon over to the mangers so that the cattle could be fed and back to the haystacks to be loaded again for the next feeding; I couldn’t push nor pull the wagon to where I needed it (not enough power.) The harnessing was difficult for me because of my size and limited strength, but in order for me to carry out a task that had to be done, the harnessing was necessary.

It was up to me to figure out how I was going to get those heavy harnesses on those horses. No one was there to help me. It was a job that I had to do alone.

Life is like harnessing the horses. Sometimes it seems as though the task is just too big for us. How much easier the work would be if we just had someone to help us.  If the thought comes to you, “I just can’t do it” remember, there is a way. Go to Jesus and ask for insight on how to get the assignment done. He will be there for you with just the right creative answer. The old wooden box was just the tool that I needed to get those huge horses harnessed and ready to feed a thousand head of white face steers.

I ask this question: are there areas in your life as was in mine, that needs to be harnessed, (to be brought into the Lord’s way of doing things?) Maybe an unruly tongue, lifestyle, or behavior.  Is it time to take the harness off from the Lord in our life so that he can have free reign? 

Allowing the Holy Spirit to do a work in our life will produce power that no enemy is capable of destroying us. 

Take the harnesses off of God and see what He will do for you.