Running Against Horses

Then the Lord replied to me, “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?” – Jeremiah 12:5

I sympathize with Jeremiah. As the pastor of a growing church and a father of five children, I too compete with horses. They are the problems that often try to overwhelm me. I have raced the horse of anxiety. I have strode neck and neck with the horses of loneliness and boredom. The horses of despair and self-pity have trampled me! Well – we won’t even discuss how badly they beat me.

And the problem with these horses is that they don’t all wait to race me in an orderly fashion. No, they all come charging at me simultaneously in one great stampede! When that happens, I’m tempted to simply throw up my hands to hide my eyes and roll into a fetal position. It’s not surprising that many of us fall by the way side. Some people try to cope by using alcohol or recreational drugs. Some throw themselves into various pleasures. But these coping attempts not only do not help in the race, but actually introduce new, fresh horses! How can we compete? How did Jeremiah?

Jeremiah was successful because he had an active, powerful prayer life. His energy source did not come from within himself. Human mental and emotional resources are insufficient for this race. His help did not come from other humans. They were also running their own races and were lucky to survive – much less help him. His help came from above. He had the confidence that he did not race these confounded horses alone. God would lift him up and help him in his struggles. Prayer can provide you with strength, support, power and peace.

Jeremiah was also a winner because he made sure he was doing God’s will. God had called him to be a prophet to a stiff-necked and hard-hearted people. Jeremiah didn’t whine and snivel about the difficulty of the task. He simply did what he was told. God has built within us a perpetual hunger for His will. When we discover and obey it, we are renewed from deep within. I have found that I have lost to the horses whenever I have pursued my own will instead of God’s.

But when we pray - not for our own needs and desires - but with a burning passion to not just know but yield to the will of God, we will “mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) If you will pray and seek God’s face so that you may know how best to obey Him, the next time you race those horses you will be driving a Ferrari.