Photo by Nicole Tarpoff
This summer I spent time in prayer to prepare for a mission trip to Cali, Colombia. Three days in a row the same image came to me during my prayer time—a white horse. I had no idea what this was about. Then, the day before I left for Colombia, a group of friends was praying for me and although I had not told them about the white horse, one of the girls praying for me said she saw a picture of a white horse. She said she felt God was going to show me a white horse in Colombia and that it would be a sign that I should minister to the owner of the horse. Now, Cali is a big city, around two million people. It’s not like there were going to be horses running around Cali, Colombia—but I trusted that it was in God’s hands and that He could do anything.
The first day in Colombia we went to visit some orphanages and slum areas and then headed back to the couple’s apartment who was hosting us. They had organized horseback riding lessons for some of our group. One of the girls who was taking a lesson needed an interpreter, so I went with her to interpret. She and I walked with the riding instructor over to the barn to find a horse for her lesson. The instructor was very well known in the area. Not only did he own this large farm and employ many individuals, he also trained many people and was very influential in his community. When he opened the stall to get out her horse, there standing before me was the white horse. I could hardly believe it!
I told God, “Lord, I have no idea what to say.” I felt God say, “Good, because it’s not your words anyway.” After her lesson, I asked the instructor if I could talk to him. I told him about the white horse I had seen during my prayers and about my friend’s prayer and what my friend had told me. And without the slightest effort, from my lips escaped the perfect gospel presentation. The Lord, knowing this man so intimately, knew how to present His truth in terminology this man could understand; namely, He connected to this man through horses.
“You have gone places on your own strength already,” I explained to the man, “but you could go so much further if you partner with Jesus. Imagine you are in a race. You are running, but I’m on a horse. Who will go further? Who will move faster? Who is going to win the race?”
The man answered, “You will.”
I responded, “Yes, and in that same way God wants to partner with you to take you places you could never go on your own.”
While I was talking, I felt he had a calling for healing through horse therapy. I told him that I felt that even with this same white horse, he was going to see people healed on a regular basis if he partnered with the Lord. The man’s jaw fell open, and without a word he pulled out his phone and showed me a video from the previous week. A five-year-old boy, who, due to a mental disability had never been able to walk, was brought to this man in hopes that horse therapy would be of help. After the session, almost miraculously, the boy was indeed able to walk!
Now this man had a strange religion—the horse was his God. But he was in awe that a complete stranger from another country had been sent by God to tell him this message. I shared how deeply God loved him and that if he were the only man on the face of the earth, Christ would have gone to the cross just for him, so that he could spend eternity in relationship with Him. Right then, the man made the decision to give his life to Christ.
Thank you, Jesus, for loving and pursuing us. Thank you for just the right words at just the right time. Thank you for the miracle of healing. All honor, praise, and glory to you, Lord.
A Million God Stories is a Christ-centered ministry which offers a platform for Christians from all streams of Christian faith to give praise for how God has worked in their lives. Christ heals in infinitely creative ways and we acknowledge that His way of helping may differ from person to person.
