Building Confidence through Faith

What do these have in common: a Pony Club rider working through her own fear as she tries to calm her anxious horse. An adaptive vaulter with MS, who has to re-build trust in her seemingly rebellious body as she vaults. A volunteer, realizing that being at peace and working hard can go hand-in-hand. A horsemanship instructor, learning how to convey knowledge clearly and effectively while also knowing that she does not have all the answers.

Each of these individuals is different. Yet, each has something in common. Their confidence is being challenged, and in that challenge, being built. They are building confidence in what they know. Confidence in being okay with what they don’t know. Confidence in being propelled towards change. Confidence in staying still. Confidence in their physical abilities. Confidence in working within their physical limitations. Confidence in realizing it is okay to be afraid. Confidence in learning how to deal with fear.

How are you being challenged today? We are all being challenged in some way, whether we realize it or not. It is uncomfortable to have our knowledge, abilities, perspective on life, and capability of handling fear, tested. How we choose to respond in the midst of those challenges is what defines us.

We tend to have expectations of ourselves, and expectations of others, that unfairly assume we should be fully capable of expeditiously handling these character-defining dilemmas on our own. I must frequently ask myself why I would expect myself to be able to perfectly overcome some spirit-strangling issue I wrestle with (and sometimes have wrestled with for a long time) when my precious Lord never had that expectation. Jesus never expected his friends, the disciples, to perfectly follow him. Paul never expected the churches he visited to be without cultural struggles. John never expected his readers to fully understand his Revelation.

God knows that we tend to change in increments. Until we’re on the other side of heaven, it is normal and healthy for change and confidence to come in small doses rather than cosmic leaps. We see this when we work with horses. Each horse, from the greenest to the most seasoned, is being challenged by their handlers. These challenges come in small doses, because we do not expect them to suddenly never have anxiety around big flapping trash bags, to jump a fence, or handle an unbalanced beginner rider. We earn their trust by building a relationship with them, and only then do we ask them to change, one small increment at a time.

So, the question is, can we accept the grace God has given us as we slowly increase our confidence in him? Through time with him. Doing life with him. Conversing with him. Struggling with him. Crying with him. Being with him.

And the follow-up question is, can we give ourselves and others that same grace?

To learn more about the Warm Beach Horsemanship Programs, Click Here. 

– Shelby Janes, Instructor
Warm Beach Horsemanship