A few years ago as I was returning home from Wyoming Campmeeting at Mills Spring Ranch, I learned of a range fire ripping through my part of the country. There’s always hope that a fire is not too serious or it might go around my land, as if fire would just somehow learn to respect property rights!
I was looking forward to arriving home and relaxing from the camping and the long drive, but judging from the direction and intensity of the smoke it appeared to be somewhere around my well pasture. And it definitely wasn’t under control.
I knew I should try to rescue my three horses in that pasture, so I saddled up my horse Apache and headed for the Cheyenne River with the intent of riding through Indian Canyon, the only access to the pasture from that direction. But when we got there, the whole canyon was engulfed in flames, as was the canyon wall of the river on both sides of the mouth of Indian Canyon.
Apache was terribly nervous, but we were safe across the river from the fire. With no alternative left, I turned it over to the Lord. On the ride home I prayed that He keep the horses safe, and if there was anything else He wanted me to do to make it clear. I modified a camp song to fit the occasion: “Who owns the horses on a thousand hills? Nobody but my Lord!”
That evening I packed some belongings in case of an emergency call in the night to evacuate, since my house sits on the river bottom. The call never came, though, because the fire didn’t jump the river. The next morning we saddled up and headed across high ground to reach the pasture from another direction.
When we were within sight of the well pasture, there were all three hoses standing unharmed at the fence watching for us as if they were expecting us at any moment. Not a hair was singed on any of them, but I couldn’t find a patch of grass in the whole pasture that hadn’t burned! When I threw the gate open the horses followed us out to find new pasture.
God does answer prayer! God does care about His critters! I even considered changing the horses’ names to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.
Written by Ben Hobbs
