A few years in a row I attended the Colorado state high school track championships (my son and daughter both competed). In between their events I watched the boys 100 meter finals for the large school division. These were the fastest boys from the largest schools. Arguably, the final race featured the eight fastest kids in Colorado.

Fans packed the stands near the finish line, as well as a number of scouts from college football programs. The young men (one could hardly call them boys) shot off the line and thundered down the track. Each strained through the finish. I marveled at the speed and skill with which they raced. So did the scouts, who marked times and made notes. I remember a close race between all eight, not a poser in the bunch. No one got to that final based on reputation or friendly placement. If you ran with those horses, you had to be fast.

The Lord gave Jeremiah a pep talk about racing. Jeremiah complained about how the wicked around him prospered, and how the Lord appeared to support them in their comfortable lives. God answered back: If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses?

Jeremiah voiced a valid complaint. Sent as a messenger to Judah, no one listened. His own family rejected him. But God did not speak kind words to salve Jeremiah’s hurt feelings. Things were about to get worse, and the Lord braced Jeremiah for what headed his way.

I’m reminded of how God responded to Job in his questioning. The Lord didn’t explain things to Job, nor did he explain things to Jeremiah. He simply pointed out who was God and who was not. He then pushed them forward.

I’ve noticed that God does not explain things to me either. He does not soothe my hurt feelings or coddle my bruised ego. Instead, he pushes me forward, into challenging spaces and fearful situations. The Lord wants you and me to run, and we cannot do so if we linger in the injury tent. I may never know what lies behind my difficult situations, but I can move forward, confident that the Lord prepares me to race with the horses.

Jeremiah 12:5

Photo by Pietro Mattia