Insight for the Day

“Ride On, Tenderfoot”

June 5, 2025 Robert Wolgemuth—Editor

This is what the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who leads you in the way you should go. Isaiah 48:17

“Have you ever ridden a horse?” Two hundred years ago, this would have been a silly question. But since we no longer need to mount our steeds to get to the general store to purchase supplies, most of the folks you and I know would say no to this question. Or if they have ridden a horse, it was probably at a summer camp, riding on a glue-factory-bound sway- back, lazily trudging along a prescribed trail—not exactly the kind of experience that qualifies as actually riding.

If you haven’t done any horseback stuff recently, don’t be defensive. I’m with you. Summer camp horseback riding is all I have ever done. I was and will always be a riding amateur. In cowboy parlance, a “tenderfoot.” And although it’s been many years, I still recall one of the great mysteries of this experience. In fact, I have watched old Western movies and the Kentucky Derby to see if I can figure out what’s going on here.

When I was mounted and riding along the path, if my horse ever picked up more than the tortoise-like pace, it became a jolting experience. Strangely, it seemed like when the saddle was going down, I was going up. And when the saddle was going up, I was headed south. The jarring hurt from my tailbone to the fillings in my molars.

But as I have studied the way professionals ride, the opposite occurs. The rider and the horse travel on parallel tracks, painlessly gliding up and down together. The horse goes up; the rider goes up. The horse descends; the rider effortlessly follows. This is a beautiful sight.

Today’s text tells us about God’s faithful intervention in the lives of the Israelites. Isaiah is also talking straight to us: God “teaches you for your benefit” and He “leads you in the way you should go” (v. 17). God’s ways are like a horseback ride, and of course, we’re the riders.

You have a choice. You can learn obedience, flowing seamlessly along with God’s best for your life, or you can be disobedient, bouncing painfully with each of His strides.

All of this raises these questions: Why would we ever want to experience anything but the joy of submission? Why would we choose to bounce painfully through life, fighting God’s admonitions to us, His best for our lives?

I don’t know the answer to these questions. I do know, however, that although this seems obvious, there’s still a great temptation to resist His voice, insisting on our own best thinking.

As the experienced teacher at summer camp, “Ranger Isaiah” gathers us together and tells us to listen. “If . . . you . . . [pay] attention. . . . Your peace [will be] like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea” (v. 18). You’ll ride like a pro.

Have you had enough bone-jarring living? Trust God’s voice. Rest in His Word. Ride on, tenderfoot.