Buck Brannaman is one of the original “horse whisperers.” For years he was a student of Ray Hunt and also of Tom and Bill Dorrance, all followers of a horse-training movement called. “natural horsemanship.” We know it by its more common name, ‘Horse Whisperer.’
A movie was made of Buck Brannaman, simply entitled “Buck”. The movie follows Buck from one horse ranch to another where he holds horsemanship and cattle-roping clinics.
Buck said that he has been training horses since he was 12-years-old. He said that he has been bitten, kicked, buckled-off and run over. In the movie, Buck confessed, “I’ve tried every physical means to contain my horse in an effort to keep from getting myself killed. I started to realize that things would come much easier for me once I learned why a horse does what he does.” So, Buck says that he tries to look at a situation from the horses point of view.
And it is from that basis that Buck works with and trains horses. And that’s what the movie, “Buck” is about.
In one of the scenes, Buck is training a horse to walk with him. The goal Buck has in mind is for the horse to trail just a step or two back with his head just behind Buck’s shoulder.
Whatever pace Buck walked, that determined the horse’s pace as well. If buck stopped, the horse stopped. When Buck stepped forward, so did the horse. The horse mirrored everything Buck did; he perfectly followed Buck’s lead.
As I watched, I wondered if we have someone we can follow, who not only will teach us how to walk, but will also lead us on the right trail. The answer is yes, we do! His name us Jesus.
The Bible in I John 2:6 says, “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
Very simply that means that as a born-again Christian, our great desire ought to be to walk like Jesus walks. It reminds us of a horse walking and following the lead of the ‘horse whisperer’, Buck Brannaman.
That’s the picture of us as a child of God walking in step with Jesus. When He steps forward we step forward. When He turns to the left or to the right, so do we. When He stops we stop. In short, to walk like Jesus walks. How do we do that? Well, a couple of ways:
- To Walk with Jesus, we Must Be in a Right Relationship With Him
In other words, in order to walk with Jesus you must first know Him as Lord and savior of your life. God loves you and wants to save you so you can walk with Him now and throughout eternity.
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (perfect substitute) for our sins.” I John 4:10
- To Walk with Jesus, we must be Obedient to Him
In the movie, Buck said in order for the horse to walk with him, the horse had to follow in absolute obedience. He said, “Even if I start walking like an old man (he demonstrated an old bent-over man shuffling along) my horse will not walk ahead of me. It was a picture of perfect obedience.
So, we too, as born-again Christians, in order to perfectly keep in step with our Lord, we must walk in obedience to Him. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15
In plain language, if you love God, you will let Him hold the reins and lead you according to His perfect will and way. All we need do is remain in step with Him.
The old hymn we so often sing says it well . . .
When we walk with the Lord in the light of his Word
What a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will, he abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.