Life is a Rodeo

Introduction

My title today is “Life is a Rodeo.” And my subtitle is “You don’t get to pick your own Bronc.” I can see all the gears turning out there. You are thinking “What in the world is he going to talk about today?”

Have you ever been to a rodeo? Being in Oklahoma, I’m sure most of you are pretty familiar with the rodeo. It’s not like that in all parts of the country.

Imagine you’re at a rodeo. The rough stock events are about to start, let’s say the bareback bronc riding. An event I became quite familiar with back in my high school days.

The announcer says, “Our first rider will be coming out of chute number 4.” The people in the crowd all turn their attention to the cowboy they see in chute number 4. The cowboy has a gloved hand in the handle of the surcingle, a leather strap that goes around the horse with a handle on the top something like a suitcase handle.

As the crowd watches, they see the cowboy nod his head and the gate-man swings open the gate to the chute and the show begins.

Now let’s suppose you don’t know a lot about how rodeo events are scored, but it appears to you that the cowboy is doing a great job. He seems to be in perfect time with the movement of the horse. He has one hand over his head, the other in the rigging and he is spurring with every jump the bronc makes. The ride looks perfect to you. It looks like a master’s class in bronc riding.

The cowboy rides his eight seconds, hears the buzzer sound, and then doesn’t even wait for the pickup man. He just throws one leg over the horse’s neck and rolls off the side and lands on his feet. The crowd applauds while he tips his hat and walks out of the arena.

The crowd waits a few seconds for the judges to tally the score and the announcer states the ride scored 70 points.

Okay, not bad.

Then the announcer states the next rider will be coming out of chute number 2. All eyes are riveted on chute number 2. The cowboy nods his head, and the gate opens.

This cowboy is also spurring with each jump, but he does not seem near as smooth as the first rider. This ride is just not as pretty. A couple of times, it looks like he is in trouble. He starts to lean to one side, but he manages to make a correction and stays on board. Finally, the buzzer sounds.

The cowboy grabs for the pickup man but misjudges it just a little and falls into the dirt floor of the arena. The cowboy gets up, dusts himself off, the picks up his hat which he had lost during the ride. He waves to the crown and then limps out of the arena.

The crowd waits for the announcement of the score. 81.

Now you’re thinking, “What in the world?” This cowboy barely managed to stay on and scores 81 while the first cowboy, who made that beautiful ride, scores 70?

For clarification, I’ll tell you a little bit about how these events are scored. Usually there are two judges. Each judge scores the rider from 1 to 25 points and scores the horse from 1 to 25 points. All the points are totaled for a possible high of 100. You never see a 100. Theoretically, the best cowboy, on his best day, could score 50 points. He highest total the horse can score is 50 points.

So why the big difference in the scores? Well, the first horse was just not bucking as hard as the second horse. He wasn’t sun-fishing, wasn’t stutter-stepping, he was just an easier horse to ride.

In the rodeo world, just like in life, there is no money in the easy ride.

My first point is:

You Don’t Pick Your Own Circumstances

When a cowboy signs up for the rodeo, he does not get to pick which bronc he wants to ride. It’s the luck of the draw.

In life, we don’t to pick our own circumstances. A lot of it is just like the luck of the draw. We don’t get to pick our physical attributes. We don’t get to pick whether we are born into a rich family or one with meager means. We don't get to decide what part of the country we are born in, or even what part of the world we are born in.

We don’t get to pick whether or not we will have loving and attentive mother, or an alcoholic and neglectful mother. We don’t get to pick who our father is; a supportive loving dad, or an abusive father, or even an absent father.

You don’t get to decide if your family will have the resources to sent you to an ivy league college, or law school or medical school, or if you will have to quite school early to support your family.

We don’t choose our circumstances, but we do chose our actions, or sometimes, even more significantly, our inaction.

It is a temptation for us to use our circumstances as an excuse to justify our lack of action. Sometimes we think if we have an excuse, it gives us a pass to not do as much as we are capable of. But sometimes it is in our challenges that we find our greatest strength and our greatest potential.

James 1:2–4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

KJV says “fall into divers temptations (G 4045 peripiptō) the sense of the word is to be surrounded by something and a lot of times in our life, we are surrounded by difficulties.

When you listen to the cowboys talking behind the chutes, they are not saying how they hope that they draw the horse that has a reputation of being easy to ride. No, they are hoping that they will draw that horse who has a reputation of being tough to ride, because riding him is the key to getting a high score, and the high score wins the money.

In the rodeo world, glory comes from riding the bad ones, from putting on a good show on a difficult horse. There is no money in the easy ride.

The temptation is to say, “Life ain’t fair, I drew a bad bronc.” I don’t have the advantages others have had. They have it easy and I have it hard.

James 1:12 ESV

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

My second point is to:

Embrace the Difficult Ride

We all have our daily broncs to ride, and we don’t get to pick them. When you get thrown off, you have two choices: You can lie there in the dirt and cry and kick your feet, or you can try and figure out what caused you to fail so you can make some adjustments and do a little better on the next bronc you draw.

I have not seen too many cowboys that chose the first option - lying in the dirt, crying and kicking their feet.

Romans 5:3–5 ESV

3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

There is a passage in Proverbs that has a special meaning for me. When I was much younger, and my bones not as brittle, I was not really afraid of getting piled by an overly spirited horse. As a matter of fact, my personal record is being thrown by the same horse is seven times in one day. The only reason it wasn’t eight times is because I think she just got too tired to throw me off anymore.

At that time, I was not familiar with this verse in Proverbs, but you will see why it caught my attention:

Proverbs 24:16 ESV

16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

You may not have started with the advantages that some others had, but that does not determine your potential. The one who determines your potential is you and God, and He knows you are capable of much more than you think you are.

Trust in the Wisdom of God

Whatever your circumstances are, you have to keep in mind that God is still in control. Sometimes we come to think that God is not paying attention or not involved in our lives because we cannot understand God’s plan as it plays out.

I want to tell you a little story about a man that you are all familiar with. He was born in poverty. His mother died when he was nine years old. He had little formal education. He attended school for a total of less than 12 months in his life. But this man loved learning and he loved books. With a little help from a few people along the way, he educated himself.

He started a business and it failed. He decided to go into politics. He ran for the general assembly in the state of Illinois and was defeated. He eventually won a post in the state legislature, but the first time he ran for the US House of Representatives, he was defeated again.

He was eventually elected as the 16th President of the United States. That man was Abraham Lincoln. You think you drew a tough bronc, imagine what Abraham Lincoln went through.

As you know, Abraham Lincoln was the President during that great conflict that we know as the Civil War. Although he presided during a very difficult time, he kept his eyes on the Lord.

I want to read you an excerpt from a letter dated October 26th, 1862. Lincoln wrote this letter to a friend of his (Eliza Gurney) who had pledged her prayers for him during this difficult time:

The letter reads in part, “I am glad to know that I have your sympathy and prayers. We are indeed going through a great trial -- a fiery trial. In the very responsible position in which I happen to be placed, being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father, as I am, and as we all are, to work out his great purposes, I have desired that all my works and acts may be according to his will, and that it might be so,

I have sought his aid -- but if after endeavoring to do my best in the light which he affords me, I find my efforts fail, I must believe that for some purpose unknown to me, He wills it otherwise.

If I had had my way, this war would never have been commenced; If I had been allowed my way this war would have been ended before this, but we find it still continues; and we must believe that He permits it for some wise purpose of his own, mysterious and unknown to us; and though with our limited understandings we may not be able to comprehend it, yet we cannot but believe, that he who made the world still governs it.”

Abraham Lincoln said, “He who made the world still governs it.” Lincoln did not understand why the country had to be subject to a terrible civil war. He didn’t understand why it had to last so long. He didn’t understand why it had to be so destructive. What he did understand was that God had a plan, even if he did not understand that plan.

If you find yourself constantly getting bucked off, do what Abraham Lincoln did, and study the only man who was never bucked off. Study Jesus Christ.