In the movie, “War Horse”, the lead character, a horse initially named “Joey” was bought by a man who needed a work horse to plow his field. In a fit of inspired pride and competition, he purchased “Joey”, a thoroughbred with racing in his lineage.
In a time of desperation, Joey had to wear a yoke so he could plow the field. I was struck by the imagery of Joey, a beautiful horse by any measure, learning from his master to bow his head to accept the yoke.
The yoke represented hard labor, painful, exhausting work that a thoroughbred like Joey was not bred to tackle, much less master. But Joey, out of obedience and even love for his master, submitted to the yoke.
I will never forget the scene when he is first tied to the plow, as legs built for speed tried to find traction to pull a plow through fallow ground. Ground that was rocky and dry, hard and unforgiving.
The townspeople came to watch, expecting to see him fail and to ridicule his master for putting a yoke on a thoroughbred.
As Joey strained and struggled, it was clear he was not going to be able to plow the field. A hard steady rain began to fall and the townspeople slowly left, driven off by the rain and the sight of certain failure.
But Joey never gave up. Though he slipped and stumbled, and struggled and strained, he never gave up. And the very rain that had proven too much for his doubters began to soften the ground and before long Joey was making progress.
He seemed to grow stronger with every successful step and at one point pulled the plow right through a huge rock, indicating that his momentum had given him strength and power.
Joey eventually plowed the entire field, and though bleeding and weary, he was not defeated. Later in the movie, he would once again have an opportunity to wear a yoke, and this time he humbled himself willingly, bowing his head to accept the task of being a thoroughbred serving as a beast of burden.
Many of us are called to greatness, ordained by our Master to do great things in the earth. But first, we must be willing to wear His yoke.
We must learn to endure public ridicule, seemingly insurmountable odds, and harsh, adverse conditions in order to fulfill the task the Master sets before us.
The greatest in the kingdom is the servant, and the ones who serve well gain spiritual strength and power. The ability to break up the fallow ground even in the midst of conditions that drive your naysayers to seek shelter.
They learn endurance and stamina to finish their course. But before honor, is humility…and the lessons of the servant never leave him.
Humble yourself and take the Master’s yoke. Work under His direction and trust Him with your well-being. Never get too big, or too important, don’t forget how to take on the yoke of a servant.
Regardless of our title, lineage, skill set, or experience, regardless of what victory we may have just won…when the master brings the yoke…bow your head and serve.
Everyday God... 