"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5
Everything we have experienced prepares us for what we will encounter some time in the future. No, I wasn't prepared for the premature death of my daughter at the age of 19, but I had practiced walking alongside friends that ended with them dying prematurely. One friend was in her early 50's, another in her early 40's, and lastly a friend in his early 30's.
I noticed several years ago a trend was occurring in my life. That trend was that I would meet and get connected to people with a terminal illness. I would meet one friend because she was asking for healing prayer and the pastor of the church recommended my husband and I. She had been diagnosed with cancer. Over time we developed a close friendship and her and her husband continued to allow us to pray and speak encouragement to them up until her final days.
I met another friend by attending a Bible Study she hosted at her home who revealed that she too had cancer. My husband and I also prayed with her and believed for a miracle for her.
The last friend was a young man who the Lord highlighted to me when he visited our church. I was directed to visit this young man (through a dream) and pray for him until I was released. He had been diagnosed with an incurable rare genetic disease.
I remember after meeting the young man (which was after the previous friends had passed away) I literally said, "God, no. I don't want to do this! I don't want to be the one called to walk alongside those who are facing terminal illness. It's too hard God! I don't like it. I don't like praying for them, believing with them, encouraging them and then watching them suffer. It's just too hard. Can't you ask someone else?" I was worn out and I wanted to quit.
Then after all of my complaining, I decided to just do what God was directing me to do.
What I didn't realize at the time was that God was preparing me and training me for what I was going to face ahead. My own daughter would be diagnosed with a rare cancer and then after 7 months of fighting she would finish her race and enter into the arms of Jesus.
Because of my training of pressing into prayer, pressing into faith, pressing into worship, pressing into the word and pressing into Jesus for others, I was able to do all of that for my daughter much more easily because it was familiar to me.
You see, I have raced with men on foot (all of my practicing and preparing) so that now I can compete with horses (that's when you are up against something much bigger than your normal obstacles).
I don't know what you are training for right now that is preparing you for your future. It might be a small hardship, trial, or personal obstacle you need to overcome.
Just don't give up or quit when you are being prepared because one day those hardships, trials, and personal obstacles might become bigger than normal.
Then it will be your time to compete with horses.
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