Grab the bull by the horns

Be the Light, Being the salt, Blessings, Boldness, Faith, Glory of God, God's provision, Holy Spirit, Peace, Victory, Witnessing 2 Minutes

At our ranch, we raise Scottish Highland cattle. The girls as well as the boys all have horns. One of the first things we do with anyone who comes to work for us, is have them grab hold of the electric fence. Ours produces about 7 to 9 volts. It just startles you, but does not hurt. But you need to be less afraid of the fence than a cow with horns coming at you.

Then there are cowboys who do this on purpose. The call it bulldogging. In the early days of the American West, cowboys would wrestle a cow to the ground to brand them, or turn the bulls into steers. Bulldogging is still done in rodeos today. Frankly, I love our squeeze chute, where we can get the cow into it and do what needs to be done. I’m not hearty enough to grab a bull by the horns and wrestle them to the ground.

So what makes me think I can do that spiritually? That I can grab my problem by the horns and wrestle it to the ground all by myself?

Defined, grabbing a bull by the horns is to deal with a difficult situation in a very direct or confident way.

The more I try to take control, the more likely I am to get skewered by the horns of what I attempting to wrestle. That will never end well.

Dealing with some nasty attorneys for a client of mine has been a situation where God has been showing me that I can let go of the horns and trust Him to give me the strength I need, and the wisdom to respond in a way that not only helps my client, but brings ultimate glory to God.

I have printed pictures of all the people involved in this case, and starting a month ago, have been praying daily over each of them by name. Asking God to bless their day, that He would send people across their path to tell them about the love of Jesus, that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes and ears to the saving truth, and that whatever I am doing will be a shining light into this otherwise dark situation.

When I told my best friend about this, we joked that I actually printed the pictures to put up and throw darts at. Some days, when it gets really awful, I so want to do this! But I don’t think that will bring any glory to God.

I also believe that then when I am in court before these people in the beginning of January, I will not being shooting darts of anger with my eyes at them, but responding in love, and I hope and pray that throws them off their game, and opens the door to their salvation just a bit wider.

I am learning on a daily basis to be content that my Unlimited God has the unlimited resources to deal with this, and I just have to be the best me I can be for this day, and let Him handle the rest. It is working out really well, and my peace is not being stolen like it was before.

I absolutely love what I do, and have been doing so for my clients since 1999. Recently though, I dreaded going to my office to deal with this evil. But now I have quit bulldogging the situation and have not been skewered since.

In quietness and confidence is my strength. (Isa. 30:15)

That’s the kind of confidence I need to be grabbing a hold. Not my own self-reliance. Confidence in God.

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Published by God Still Speaks

I am a follower of Jesus with an insatiable hunger for the Word of God! I am doing my best to be obedient in sharing what I learn with others, with my own unique spin, using the way God made me, linear with a twist!

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22 thoughts on “Grab the bull by the horns”

  1. Excellent post sister! I had never thought of the origins of that well known phrase, but like everyone else had used it often. The spiritual application of it is absolutely spot on; how we all need to be at peace in His care – “to let go and let God” as someone once said. God bless you and yours this weekend sister 🙏

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  2. I like your thought about bringing the best me to everyday and letting God handle the rest. In reality, we are not personally responsible for the reactions of others—unless we force them to do something. God is the ultimate authority who will judge each of by our deeds.

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    1. I actually try to remember to pray that over myself every morning before I get out of bed. Kinda sets the tome for the day. And yes, what a great reminder, as I want to take on the responsibility of how someone else is behaving and help them. But you are right, I cannot and am not responsible for their choices. I have been getting better about letting God handle that too!

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      1. It’s a struggle daily for me to not feel responsible if others aren’t happy about something. I’m not sure why this is so, and I’ve struggled with it since childhood. Anyway, enough about me—this is your blog. 😊 I always enjoy reading about your adventures and how they apply to everyday life. Your solutions are both biblical and practical. Blessings!

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  5. I may have shared this one with you, but it’s one I have to remind myself about… “Don’t waste your time and your energy — which belong to God — throwing stones at the dogs that bark at you on your way. Ignore them.” — St. Josemaría Escrivá

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  6. “Defined, grabbing a bull by the horns is to deal with a difficult situation in a very direct or confident way.”

    So this is not a good way to handle a problem, or just sometimes its not? I thought bulldogging meant you are being a bully.

    “Don’t waste your time and your energy — which belong to God — throwing stones at the dogs that bark at you on your way. Ignore them.”

    If they don’t just bark and do indeed attack……….? I’m getting mixed messages with post. Not saying it isn’t a good one, because it is. Just can’t narrow it down to exactly what is for me, if anything. Sounds like there should be something concrete for me, but…..it keeps slipping through my hands, maybe? Are my hands oily. It’s like I somehow made it to a swine wrestling party instead. SOOY!

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    1. The main point of this message is rely and fully depend on God. Trying to to everything your self never ends well. My memory verse for the week might help. “I receive my power from the Lord’s boundless resources—His strong and mighty power. God is strong and wants me to be strong too. So I will take everything He is setting before me and use it. I will take all the help I can get.” (Eph 6:10 NIV & MSG)
      And thanks for the visual, swine wresting party! Now I can’t get that out of my head!

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  7. This is a great post, C!!! I love the Scottish Highland cattle they are absolutely adorable! It’s NOT adorable when I seek to do life in my own strength and way. You amaze me with your faith and desire to truly pray for your enemies and those who seek to persecute you. I will pray for you with this trial. I need to pray more for those who I find difficult. Love you!!!

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  8. Thank you, Cindi! Once again–your analogies hit the spot and comfort me. Excellent column this week–and thank you for sharing your feelings in such a way about our strife dealing with “humans”–and reminding us we are all God’s children. Love your bible verse too: In quietness and confidence is my strength. (Isa. 30:15). A very good lesson for me. Be blessed! Make it another extraordinary week ahead!

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