CLEOEJACKSONIII.COM
  • My Home Page
  • My Life and Ministry
  • My Ongoing Thoughts
  • My Favorite Bible Verses
  • My Favorite Stories
  • My Favorite Jokes
  • My Favorite Quotations
  • My Favorite Web Links
  • My Contact Info
"Helping Others Communicate"

SADDLE UP!

1/4/2019

 
In 2014, members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.  In 2001, a group of voters selected by the Recording Industry Association of America ranked it as the 98th best song of the entire Twentieth Century!  Four years earlier, in 1997, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  And four years prior to that, in 1993, it even made the soundtrack of the film “Sleepless in Seattle”.

I am referring, of course, to Gene Autry’s signature classic: "Back in the Saddle Again".  And although he was not the first to record it, Autry’s version of it, way back in 1939, became a gold record!

Perhaps you are familiar with the lyrics:


I'm back in the saddle again…
Out where a friend is a friend…
Where the longhorn cattle feed…
On the lowly jimson weed…
I'm back in the saddle again!


Now that this little ditty is stuck in your head, I’ll get to my point. As the holidays come to an end, and as the month of January unfolds, most of us find ourselves getting back in the saddle!  We return to our routine, to our day in and day out and week in and week out cycle of existence.

Not everyone looks forward to this.  For some, the mind-numbing boredom such a routine portends is almost unbearable.  Others dread it less for the monotony and more for the sense that they are trapped.  More fearful than bored, they feel that they are wasting precious time and opportunity in this, that, or the other repetitious pursuit, always busy but never actually accomplishing very much.

And yet, I would suggest that the discipline of a routine is the very essence of accomplishment and fulfillment in life!  Consider what the Bible has to say about the importance of having a routine in the lives of three key figures:

Of Daniel, the Bible says:

“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously….” (Daniel 6:10 ESV)

Of Paul, it says:

“And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures…” (Acts 17:2 ESV)

And of Jesus, Himself, the Scriptures say:

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read…”  (Luke 4:16 ESV)  

Daniel, Paul, and Jesus all appeared to have gotten in the saddle and stayed there!  They each developed routine behaviors that were beneficial to them and also to those they encountered. Among these routine behaviors were praying, attending services at the Lord’s house, and discussing their faith with others. Having developed them, they obviously persisted.  And God used these things to give them repeated victories in their lives.

In the same way, I challenge you to consider that most of our own victories in life will come about in and by the daily routines we develop and maintain in the coming year. One of the most decorated athletes of ancient Greece was Milo of Croton.  He was not a mythological individual like Hercules, but rather a real man noted for his many victories in the various Greek games.
 
He was said to have developed his great strength by lifting a newborn calf and carrying it a certain distance and then setting it down.  He then repeated this exact same feat day in and day out as the calf matured into a full grown bull.  As the days passed and turned into years, the bull grew heavier and heavier.  And so did Milo’s strength and stamina as a result!

Similarly, individuals like Daniel, Paul, and Jesus all possessed great spiritual strength and stamina that gave them many spiritual victories.  This was doubtless due to the fact that they each pursued a daily routine of spiritual nurture and exercise.  And the same can be true for us.

So, my friend, as 2019 unfolds, why not commit to developing and maintaining some essential daily routines?  Do this in all areas of your life – but especially the spiritual.  And then, slowly but surely, as the minutes tick by, and as the hours become days, and as these become weeks, you will doubtless become stronger and better at all you undertake to do.  You will most likely experience more and more daily victorious as well!

Who knows?  Before long, perhaps, it might even be said of you as it was of individuals like Daniel and Paul and, above all, Jesus:  “such was his custom”!

SOURCES: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_in_the_Saddle_Again;
https://genius.com/Gene-autry-back-in-the-saddle-again-lyrics;
https://www.openbible.info/topics/routine;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_of_Croton.

Comments are closed.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All