I'm Not Tired Yet

Jeremiah 12:5
If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?

Everyone gets tired at some point. Especially when you push yourself toward a goal and there is opposition we all get tired. But when you’ve been called by God your conditioning ought to be a little different from the average person. What sets believers apart from unbelievers is our ability to endure hardship without giving into physical fatigue.

I love watching the boxing documentary on HBO called 24/7 with boxers like Floyd Meriwether train for their upcoming matches. It is amazing to watch the rigorous routines they go through to get ready for a match. What many boxers will tell you is that the real fight is before the fight. These athletes have to condition themselves in plush times to get ready for all hell to break loose. If they can get their bodies ready when there is no threat then when they are under extreme pressure and fatigue in the ring, they can make it.

Jeremiah, the prophet, was like a heavyweight fighter. He had been called to prophesy to heavy opposition. The prophecy that Israel would be taken captive and there would be famine in the land had not taken place but Jeremiah was taking heat like a congressman at a Town Hall meeting on Healthcare. He was tired! Even anointed people can get tired when you face opposition from hateful and hard-headed people. But God reminded Jeremiah of his need for conditioning. If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, how can you contend with horses?

There is a song we used to sing called, “I’ve been Running for Jesus…I’ve been down and out, up and down almost level to the ground but I’m not tired yet, Running for Jesus. I’ve been laughed at, dogged out, 'buked and scorned, talked about just as sure as you are born but I’m not tired yet! Running for Jesus!"

When you are running you got to know who you are running for. When you start doing things for selfish motives and not divine assignments you can burn out fast.
How do you condition yourself?

1. Pace yourself. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (New International Version)
26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

2. Wait on the Lord. Isaiah 40:30-31 (New International Version)
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

3. Remember whose fight it is. 2 Chronicles 20:15
He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.

Dear God, condition me in the peaceful days so I can be ready to fight the good fight of faith. Help me to finish my race. Teach me how to endure hardships as a good soldier. I know that Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. No, No I’m not tired, I’m not tired yet. I’m running for Jesus.

Amen.