10th.: If the Footman Wearied Thee ...
Jeremiah shared many complaints to God.
One of these was:
“Righteous are thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee, yet let me talk with thee of thy judgements.
Wherefore does the way of the wicked proper?
Wherefore are all they happy (fortunate) that deal very treacherously?
Thou has planted them. Yea, they have taken root. They grow. They bring forth fruit.
Thou are near in their mouth, and far from their reins.
But thou, O Lord, knows me. Thou has seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein?
The beasts are consumed, and the birds, because they said, ‘He shall not see our last end.’” (Jer. 12:1-4).
Jeremiah asked our common complaint, "Why do the wicked prosper?"
The Lord did not reprove Jeremiah.
Nevertheless, the Lord asked Jeremiah a difficult question.
“If thou has run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how can thou contend with the horses?” (Jer. 12:5a).
Put another way, God asked Jeremiah,
'If you think this situation is bad, then what are you going to do, when the going gets real difficult?'
God says that he will comfort us (2nd Cor. 1:4). Yet this does not keep him from putting us through difficult situation.
We must pray. Yet we must prepare our hearts for whatever may come.
“In your patience, possess ye your souls.” (Luke 21:19)