The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise – Psalm 51:17
Unlike the depiction in Westerns, where taming a wild horse often consists of physical mistreatment, Christians will never experience such cruelty during the process of becoming more like Jesus. Instead, we are lovingly convicted by the Holy Spirit of what it means to live submissively to God’s will with a commitment to having a “broken spirit.” This process includes realigning or removing any hindrances that would prevent the ultimate declaration: “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).
Taming your feelings and emotions to mirror God’s will for your life is an ongoing process of Thoughtful Awareness, Mindfully Executed Daily (TAMED). First, this process requires personal introspection to acknowledge your weaknesses and recognize when they reappear. Secondly, it requires the determination to resist those weaknesses by accessing the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit every day. The apostle Paul’s reference to self-discipline in 1 Corinthians 9:27, when he said, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection,” equally applies to our total well-being, inwardly and outwardly.
Being tamed is the willingness to live the right way and gain freedom from living the wrong way—untamed.