A Celestial Slant on Cowboys

In a grove of glossy dark evergreens at the bottom of a ravine, red, brown and white horses congregated and side-stepped on the rocky ground. 

Like a scene from a wrangling cowboy western, a man astride a red horse leaned low to listen. Galloping in from the north, south, east and west, his reconnaissance men on a mission returned with reports for his ears. Despite reports of rest and calm, the ranger fell back into his saddle and sighed, “Lord Almighty, how long will you…?”

 I have been working my way through the ancient words in the Old Testament of the Bible, trying to see them from fresh eyes and asking the Writer to teach me anew each time. This celestial slant on cowboys and rangers from the book of Zechariah is what accompanies my morning coffee today. I munch graham crackers and refill my coffee cup numerous times, poring through these verses. This scene catches my attention.

The wranglers straddle their horses in a myrtle/evergreen ravine, while their ranger breathes hard through dusty nose and face. “How long, Almighty God…?” and the cowboys wait. 

In a surprisingly nonchalant manner, the very next sentence introduces a new character to the scene, and answers the ranger’s questions.

 “So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me,” explains Zechariah.

Wow. Even wrangling cowboy angels can speak wonderingly to the God of the universe? Even wrangling cowboy angels can ask, “How long, God?” And even wrangling cowboy angels benefit from a God who steps into westerns and dusty rocky ravines to speak kind and comforting words to those who need to hear it. 

No setting is too far off the radar. No canyon, mountain, jungle, or soccer mom van is too remote a location for him to walk into the scene and speak kindness and comfort to honest questions and sighs. 

So, whether you are astride a horse or a golden Saturn, he hears you, he loves you, he knows what you are thinking this morning, and he’ll stride into your scene with words for you to hear. 

My goal this morning is to listen, to thank him for those words, and then to turn and speak words of kindness and comfort to my kids, spouse, neighbors and friends, to the people God has put around me. 

Linking with Ann, Laura, and Duane, I am thankful for wrangling cowboy angels and a God who strides into any scene to reply.

What has our Scene-striding God spoken to you lately?

Photo credits to Microsoft