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January 19, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n Running With Horses<\/strong><\/span> Lee en espa\u00f1ol<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf 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?\u201d Jeremiah 12:5 (NIV)<\/em><\/p>\n I thought I was strong \u2014 until the weight of single parenting left me gasping for air. The day-to-day felt like a race I could never win, with bills piling, loneliness pressing, and children needing more than I had to give.<\/p>\n I felt similar to Jeremiah in today\u2019s key verse: I could barely keep up with the footraces of life, much less imagine running with horses.<\/p>\n In Jeremiah 12:1, the prophet asked God some questions many of us whisper in the dark: \u201cWhy does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?\u201d<\/em> (NIV). In other words, Why does it seem like I\u2019m barely surviving while others who don\u2019t even honor You are thriving?<\/em><\/p>\n God responded, \u201cIf you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?\u201d<\/em> (Jeremiah 12:5a).<\/p>\n At first that might sound almost harsh, as though God was brushing off Jeremiah\u2019s pain. But God wasn\u2019t dismissing Jeremiah; He was preparing him.<\/p>\n It\u2019s like God was saying, This isn\u2019t the end of your story. If you\u2019re tired here, in the<\/em> \u201csafe country,\u201d how will you endure when the path gets wilder, the stakes higher? I am training you for more.<\/em><\/p>\n What looked to Jeremiah like opposition was actually preparation. The weariness of his current footrace was building the endurance he would need for harder seasons ahead.<\/p>\n I think about my own life through that lens. The job loss that unraveled my security. The rejection that made me question my worth. The long nights of single parenting where exhaustion sang louder than hope. Each of those races left me breathless, but they also became my training ground. They were not wasted. They were building spiritual muscle memory for the moments God would ask me to step into deeper waters and denser thickets \u2014 yes, even to run with horses.<\/p>\n Friend, maybe you\u2019re in your own footrace today, weary from the grind, confused by the unfairness, wondering why others seem to flourish while you\u2019re just holding on. Can I whisper this encouragement? What you\u2019re facing is not the finish line. It\u2019s the training ground. God sees your exhaustion, and He isn\u2019t shaming you for it. He\u2019s strengthening you through it.<\/p>\n For those following hard after God, the race will quicken. The call will grow louder. And you and I will find that the hard things that left us stumbling have now equipped us to run with endurance we didn\u2019t know we had.<\/p>\n Lord, You see my tired places where I feel worn out from the everyday race. Thank You that You don\u2019t shame my weakness \u2014 You strengthen me. Train my heart to lean on You, not my own stamina. When the path gets harder and the pace picks up, remind me that I don\u2019t run alone. Teach me to run with You, even as fast as horses. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n 40 Days Through the New Testament: Knowing the Savior Who Steadies Our Uncertainty<\/em> starts in just a few days! When you give to Proverbs 31 Ministries, you\u2019re helping women all over the world encounter the Truth of God\u2019s Word right when they need it most \u2014 and as a thank-you, you\u2019ll receive 40 Days Through the New Testament<\/em>. This eight-week study will guide you through the life of Jesus and the early Church, helping you see how His promises bring abundant life today. Inside, you\u2019ll find daily readings, reflection questions, and practical tools to help you grow spiritually, trade fear for hope, and deepen your understanding of who God is. Don\u2019t miss this opportunity to stir up your faith \u2014 and help another woman do the same. Give now!<\/p>\n The author of today\u2019s devotion, Melissa Fairchild, is a member of COMPEL Pro Writers Training and a recent winner of our Encouragement for Today<\/em> Devotion Writing Challenge. We celebrate the way God is growing and using her gift of writing.<\/p>\n Hebrews 12:1, \u201cTherefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us \u2026\u201d (NIV).<\/p>\n Where in your life do you feel like you\u2019re worn out or stumbling? How might God be using this season to build endurance in you for something greater?<\/p>\n We\u2019d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2026 by Melissa Fairchild. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n Proverbs 31 Ministries January 19, 2026 Running With HorsesMELISSA FAIRCHILD, COMPEL Pro Member Lee en espa\u00f1ol \u201cIf 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?\u201d Jeremiah 12:5 (NIV) I thought I<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[86,269,268,5212,2829,270,2974,181],"class_list":["post-16678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-devotionals","tag-daily","tag-devotional","tag-encouragement","tag-horses","tag-january","tag-proverbs","tag-running","tag-today"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
MELISSA FAIRCHILD, COMPEL Pro Member<\/span><\/p>\nOUR FAVORITE THINGS<\/h4>\n
ENGAGE<\/h4>\n
FOR DEEPER STUDY<\/h4>\n
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"