I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. -Jeremiah 31:25 

After an assignment from my pastor that seemed somewhat daunting, I decided to read the book of Jeremiah. 

How can reading wear you out? It did not take long. 

I immediately became entangled in the turmoil Israel repeatedly found itself in, all of their own doing. God’s call to return went unheeded, and, like the Titanic, I knew what was going to happen, so I skipped chapters and raced ahead to the promise of a new covenant, but I was still confused by what had happened in the meantime. Why did God command Jeremiah to buy a field? And what was the purpose of being thrown into a muddy cistern? Everything seems to fall apart for Jeremiah before God brings consolation. It is an abrasive rub against my sense of order to see that the obedient prophet’s religion is not made for comfort. 

 In Eugene Peterson’s book Run With the Horses on Jeremiah, he illustrates that God does not promise believers an easier life, he prepares us for a larger one. 

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? “  Jeremiah 12:5 

This verse becomes Peterson’s governing metaphor: He knew that Jeremiah was much like me, that if running against people or simply reading a chaotic text has exhausted you, what are you going to do when you have to run with horses? Jeremiah’s goal is to foster a radical faith in God and to be capable of running with the herd. 

God never asks us to sustain ourselves. Jeremiah 31:25 shines brightly, “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” The One who calls us to run is also the One who refreshes us for the race.

Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, I pray to have radical faith and courage to run with horses. Living by faith does not mean living with applause or always winning. I know only You will refresh and prepare me for a larger life. Amen