I love Cowboy movies. I especially love Tombstone. There is something about that genre of movie that captures my attention. Maybe it’s the adventure, maybe the suspense, or maybe it’s the geography. Whether it’s the open range or the mountains of Montana the scenery is always so spectacular. But what I always like is when the cowboy rides into a new town. He always comes to the stables or the local saloon and he’ll hop off of his horse and tie-down at the hitching post. That’s where you had to leave your horse. Think of it as old-fashioned parking stalls. When a cowboy or a traveler saw a hitching post they knew that meant they could stop and hang out for a while. They could rest and give their horse a rest as well. They would “hitch” their horse to it. Well, there is also another post that cowboys and travelers would encounter. That would be the “Guide-Post”. This was completely different than the hitching post. A guide-post served as a marker along the way that helps point you to your destination. You didn’t tie up to this one. Just the opposite, you would keep going right on by knowing that it was showing you the way. In life, as we travel we will encounter both posts, metaphorically speaking. We will at times need to tie up at the hitching post and take a much-needed rest. But what usually happens is we end up constantly looking for the hitching post and we miss the beauty of the guide-post. Especially when we have messed up. When we have blown it and embarrassed ourselves we tend to tie our horses to that one particular moment. We make that our stopping point, our “hitching-post” and it ends up defining us. Well, the gospel of grace says something different. It tells us to use those moments as guide-posts and let them point us to a better destination. Let it be a teacher and a guide to help keep us on the right path. The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 3 that he has learned to forget what is behind him and he has learned to press forward to the goal. He keeps moving forward, letting his circumstances, good or bad lead him closer to Jesus, his destination. So today my friends, whatever you are in the middle of, trust that God is using those moments of success or failure as guide-posts. They are pointing you to a better destination! And please STOP hitching your horse to the bad moments!
Peace,
-Pastor Matt
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