"If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with the horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of Jordan?" Jeremiah 12:5
The Lord knows best how to encourage and motivate us. There are times He might gently nudge or push us, other times He might put air in our tires with words of inspiration. And then there are times like in the above verse, where the Lord speaking to Jeremiah, sounds like a football coach. I suppose a coach may have abbreviated the verse by simply saying, "hey Jerry, just gut it up!"
Don't be surprised if the Lord motivates you the same way He did Jeremiah. I believe in light of the days we are living in, that the Lord desires to toughen us up a bit. We know that God loves us, and that He is if for us and not against us. His word promises that no matter what we are going through, it will turn out for good, and that He will never leave us on our own. In spite of knowing these truths we can still feel discouraged, defeated, or forgotten. In the midst of difficult seasons, I might expect that God should feel sorry for me, yet in His love and wisdom He doesn't. Instead of being coddled most often I hear my heavenly coach holler, "hey Walker, your better then that, just gut it up!" In His love for me He won't baby me, but instead speaks to me as He did His beloved prophet Jeremiah, motivating me to pursue His higher calling for my life. In the midst of the trials of life so often we just need to remember who we are in Christ, trust Him, and "gut it up!"
