I was reading something written by a pastor recently and he pointed to a verse in Jeremiah that isn’t often studied. Jeremiah was praying to the Lord and asking a few “why” questions. Jeremiah 12:5 is the first part of God’s response to Him. “If you have run with the footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with the horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?” This may seem like a strange verse to be taking a closer look at, but I felt a stirring in my soul that this was an important verse to pay attention to right now.
Jeremiah was asking for relief. This was likely not the answer he expected or hoped for. God was basically saying to him, “Things aren’t going to get easier; they are going to get more difficult. If you are struggling with this, how are you going to handle it when it gets really tough”. This reminded me of what I felt the first time I read where someone had said that God was more concerned with our holiness than our happiness. The Christian walk is often described in the Bible as a battle because it is one. Battles are not easy, and they are not something to be taken lightly.
I believe God was warning His prophet of the difficulties that were coming in order to prepare him for them. He was speaking truth to His prophet so that he could be prepared for what lay ahead. Romans 8:29 tells us that one of the main goals in the life of a believer should be to conform to the image of His Son Jesus. We are here to become more like Christ and to share Him with others. Nowhere in Scripture are we told that this will be an easy process. In fact, just the opposite is true. We see many Scriptures that speak of hardships, trials, persecution, dying to self, etc.
The prophet Jeremiah could attest to the truth of this. His was no easy calling. No genuine follower of Christ walks through this world with out facing a certain number of difficulties, my friend. However, it helps to remember that they serve a purpose. “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” Romans 5:3-5.
In Jeremiah 12:5, God was telling Jeremiah that things were going to get harder, and he would need to prepare himself to endure. He was going to need to grow stronger and have the stamina needed to stand and endure. My verse for this year goes well with this. 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” As I have shared before, I believe that God gave me this verse because He knew it was what would be needed for this year. I believe He is reminding me how important it is to stand firm in these days.
Forgive me for being so blunt, but I must speak truth. I believe we are in the last days. I also believe that difficult days lie ahead of us. It is important that we acknowledge this so that we can prepare for it. Like Jeremiah, I believe we need to prepare ourselves to stand firm in the face of difficulty. We need to prepare ourselves to cling to God and His Word. You see, thankfully, God doesn’t expect us to do it on our own strength. He is more than willing to help us. 2 Corinthians 12:9 reminds us that His grace is sufficient for our every need.
We can look to Him to help us do all that we need to do. We can look to Him for the strength to stand. Our part is to actually do this. We must seek His face in prayer on a daily basis. We must get in His Word and get His Word in us. I urge you to take the time to read Psalm 119 if you have not done so lately so that you can see just how important His Word is in the life of a believer. If we want to endure, we must do the work necessary to build the spiritual muscles we will need, dear heart. We cannot passively stand idle and expect to be able to stand strong in hard times.
If you wish to grow stronger, you must do what is needed to develop more strength. I cannot stress it enough, my friend. You must take active and intentional responsibility for your spiritual growth. I believe that in the days to come, we are going to need to be stronger than we have ever been. We are going to need to be prepared to keep fighting the good fight of faith (2 Tim. 4:7) and persevere until the end. We cannot grow weary; we must keep doing good (Gal. 6:9), trusting Him to provide the strength that we will need to press on.
Beloved, He is not asking us to do anything His Son has not already done. “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” Hebrews 12:3. It is an unavoidable truth that suffering is often the training ground for Christian growth and maturity. However, as I said, He is more than willing to help us. We can look to Him for the strength and guidance we need. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God” Phil. 4:6.
Paul goes on in the next verse to assure us that if we do this, “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension” will guard our hearts and our minds (v.7). His peace can be available to us, even when we are facing great difficulties. No matter what the future holds, we can have peace when we choose to trust the One who holds the future in His hands. We can find peace when we give it to Him and choose to trust Him to help and guide us. Hard times may come, but we do not face them alone; He is always with us. He will always be with us.
Let’s go back to our friend Jeremiah for a moment, my friend. I have read the book that bears his name and tells his story many times. I can tell you with great certainty that things did indeed get more difficult for poor Jeremiah. He went through a lot of hard days and faced great persecution. However, I can also tell you another thing about him. God did not let him quit. He helped His prophet stand and endure through it all. He also helped him keep sharing His message. He never left His prophet’s side no matter how bad things got.
He helped Jeremiah endure; He helped him to do the work He had called him to do. Beloved, He will do the same for you. No matter what the future holds, no matter what difficulties may lie ahead, He will be with you. He will help you to do the work He created you to do for Him, if you will look to Him for the help that you need. He will ever be at your side, ready to carry you through, dear heart. However, if you wish to stand, you must get intentional about preparing to do so. One does not walk into a battle without first preparing for it. It’s time to get serious about preparing yourself to stand.
See also: Deut. 31:8; Phil. 3:10; Acts 18:9-10
Katrina Douglas
7/19/24
