Jeremiah 12:5 If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?
I’m sure you’re familiar with the saying, when it rains it pours. The weeks before Christmas turned out to be one of those downpours for us.
Our dishwasher broke, gushing water all over the kitchen floor. The CD player started skipping (meaning all my favorite Christmas discs remained as quiet as a Silent Night). Even my iron—that archaic relic—died! But worst of all, the wind took down our power line and we were without electricity for 30 hours. I had to wrap Christmas gifts in the only room that gave good natural light as I made repeated runs to the fireplace to keep warm.
Around 9 pm the next evening, PP&L finally arrived in full force. One monster truck parked right in our backyard, and two others occupied our lane. A tree-cutting service appeared shortly after to remove the mangle of branches and vines interfering with our connection as well as our holiday bliss. At last, the linemen were able to restore the power around 11 pm. My husband was so relieved that he offered them bags of venison jerky!
So what do we do when those cloudbursts threaten to drown our peace, comfort and joy? Maybe, learn from them.
What we experienced proved to be, at worst, inconvenient. Compared to issues far more consequential, they were relatively insignificant. Yet I can’t help but think God allows these “downpours” in our lives to train us for bigger battles.
The prophet Jeremiah was losing heart. His countrymen were dismissing both him and his warnings about the coming judgment. Hopeless, he complained to God about the deluge of rejection and injustice. But God responded, “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?” Jeremiah would face greater challenges than those he now faced, and God was preparing him to be more courageous than he had ever been.
Jeremiah had to learn to trust God when he didn’t understand the what or why behind his situation. As must we.
So the next time you face one of those when it rains, it pours circumstances, trust God. Let him use it for your good. He’ll make you stronger, wiser and more gracious than you’ve been before.