"If you have run with the footmen....

Dear Saints,

Recently I have been reading the book of Jeremiah. So many can lament with this prophet of God as he lived in a time when the people of God had turned their backs on His ways and His will, choosing to live for themselves. Jeremiah was known as the "weeping prophet" because of all the tears he shed for the Jewish people who choose to serve idols over their One True God,turning a deaf hear to the voice of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah telling them to turn from their evil ways.

While reading chapter 12 of Jeremiah, verse 5 jumped out at me, "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses....?" The Holy Spirit was speaking to the depth of my being and I heard Him loud and clear - not in an audible voice but one that resounded in my spirit. Having gone through a difficult time these past few weeks with almost a loss of desire to do anything but spend time with the Lord needing His strength so much, I recognized the personal message spoken here in Jeremiah. If I grow weary just going about my every day life, then how can I contend with things of greater strength, such as the horse, which can bear more than man can?

Jeremiah 5 continues with, "And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?" Ouch! If I have grown weary in this land of peace, where I am comfortable, how can I expect to be strong in the stormy waters of life? Goodness, that is definately something to think about, isn't it?

Isaiah 40: 31 tells us, "But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Hallelujah! I need to rest in the Lord waiting, trusting Him to do that which He has promised to do, lean on Him and not myself. When I grow weary that means I am walking in my own strength and not His. It is at this time that I need to change my thinking from that of the natural and go to the supernatural realm in which He abides. If I am contending for that which He has already promised me through His Word then my faith needs to be built up in our Most High God. Faith, like a muscle must be exercised. It can be faithful to pull against the tendons of that muscle but that is the only way the muscle can grow. Adversity might come our way but we need to press in against it, holding fast to the promises and truth that are within God's Word available to all that believe on it. Faith is available to us. We just need to believe what God has already said is ours and there for us. You might have a billion dollars placed in your bank account but it's not going to do you any good unless you take action and access it, amen? The same with the things of God. We must wait in what God's Word says, holding fast to it, believing that it will come to pass because God said it. Our trust must be in Him not in the things we see around us.

God was striving to get Jeremiah's attention. He wanted Jeremiah to be aware of his need for the Lord. More was coming Jeremiah's way and he needed to pay attention to what He was saying and to place his trust in the Lord. Today we need to examine where we are at spiritually. If we run with the footmen, those of equal capabilities as ourselves and we grow weary, and are in a relatively secure place in our lives, how much would something of greater magnitude coming against us affect us? We need to get closer to the Lord than ever before. We need to know God's great love for us and how He has equipped us, through Christ Jesus, to do all we need to do to be more than conquerors through Him which loves us. We need to walk by His Spirit and not by our flesh which is weak. Let the joy of the Lord be our strength as we lean not to our own understanding but hold fast to Him who sustains us. We are called to run with the horses and to excel so that we one day can ride with Him, Lord of lords, King of kings, not by our own power but by His Spirit. Many are called but few are chosen because many will grow weary in the running not waiting and trusting on the timing of the Lord to fulfill that which He has promised. Lord, help us to be of the chosen, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Waiting on the Lord,
Joan