The Toughest Sport on Dirt

The sport of bull riding is what some call “the toughest sport on dirt.” It involves riding a twisting, bucking, angry bull for what every rider hopes will be eight seconds—a virtual eternity when seated on 1,800 pounds of raging power.

One common denominator among bull riders is fear. The Lord says in Isaiah that we have nothing to fear because, by the glory of God, He will help us through anything we face. And that means anything from the possibility of missing clutch free-throws to the potential of getting trampled by a bull.

In my life and time as a bull rider, there have been many times I’ve been behind the chutes worried and scared about such things. But before I ride, I say a prayer asking the Lord to relieve my body and mind of all fear, and He does.

Famed bull rider Lane Frost once said this: “I think a competitor makes his own luck; that’s why he’s a winner. Luck, to me, is having lots of determination, lots of hard work, faith in myself and in God.” That last bit is undoubtedly the most important. If we don’t have faith in God, then we have everything in the world to fear. But when we have faith in an all-powerful God, what do we have to fear except for God himself? And when He loves us so much and works for our good in all situations, then that fear of Him becomes more of a reverence than being scared.

The Lord promised that He would never give us anything we couldn’t handle. When you think about it, life is just like a career in bull riding. We hit our tough times and our strong times; we get bucked off and go to the next rodeo knowing we could either get bucked off again or make a better ride. Through it all, God will help us through all of our fears along the way. Today, may we all remember that there’s nothing we can’t handle with Him!