At a Colorado ranch where I once worked, we had a mule named Prunes. He was big, strong, and intelligent. He was also the ringleader of a small band of horses that regularly escaped from the corral.

One evening we hid near the barn to see how they got out. Just before dark Prunes approached the gate, flipped up the latch with his nose, and then knocked his head against the lever. The gate swung open and Prunes gave a satisfied snort as he and his friends trotted off to freedom.

Prunes was smart, but he was also stubborn, and only a strong, skilled rider could control him. Perhaps the psalmist had known an animal like that when he wrote: “Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you” (Psalm 32:9).

The Lord longs to lead His children in a much different way: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (v.8). Just a glance from the Lord is enough to keep an obedient, cooperative Christian on the right trail. It takes a bit and bridle to direct a stubborn mule.

Which will it be for us today?

   — David C. McCasland