Some people seem born to run. They’re dedicated to it, going out every day to run a mile or two. Or three. Or more. It wasn’t necessarily easy for them to develop the habit. Depending on what kind of shape they were in, their bodies may have screamed at them to stop even after a short jog. But once they got used to it, they began to enjoy and even crave the feeling it gave them, the so-called “runner’s high.”

Me? Not into it. Never have been. When I was a kid and we had to do cross-country runs for gym class, I always brought up the rear. Whoever was ahead was so far gone around the next corner I couldn’t even see him. I’d huff and puff my way back to the locker room, every step being torture. My legs felt like lead; my lungs couldn’t get enough air. There was barely an ounce of energy left in my body.

But even marathoners know the feeling. It’s called “hitting the wall” or even “bonking.” Their bodies are literally running out of fuel and struggling to keep up with the demand. When everything in you wants to give up, finishing the race is an act of sheer determination.

What they wouldn’t give at that moment for a boost of energy.

As we’ve seen, the third chapter of the book of Micah contains three oracles. The first is Micah’s words against the unjust judges. The second is God’s words against the false prophets, telling them that their prophetic gifts would be taken away, and that God would no longer hear their prayers. In that context, we considered what it might be like for Micah to have to say these words to people who may once have been colleagues or friends of his, people who had lost their way as prophets and had begun contradicting Micah’s words.

Imagine yourself in Micah’s place. Even when you know you’re right, how difficult is it to keep going when no one wants to listen and everyone seems to be against you? Did Micah ever hit the wall as a prophet? Did he ever feel like giving up?

Maybe. But in strong contrast to the oracle against the false prophets, listen to what Micah says about himself:

But as for me, I am filled with power,
    with the Spirit of the LORD,
    and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
    to Israel his sin. (Mic 3:8, NIV)

Is Micah the Energizer Bunny of prophets? God’s Spirit is on him; he is filled with power and might. Note too that the word translated as “might” isn’t simply about one’s muscles or military; it suggests courage or valor.

Speaking truth to power, after all, is a lonely and dangerous vocation. Hasn’t he already accused the powerful of eating the innocent alive? But God empowers Micah to do what he’s been called to do: to cry out for justice among God’s people, a people who have become deeply, flagrantly unjust.

Of course, we still need to be realistic. None of this means that Micah didn’t suffer. Nor does it mean that Micah never got tired, discouraged, or even depressed. Think about the great prophet Elijah after the stunning public defeat of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. That was a media-worthy moment that would have made the Internet explode. But alone in the wilderness afterward, hunted by Jezebel, Elijah was burned out and wanted to die (1 Kings 19:4).

Or consider the apostle Paul, and how much he had to suffer for the sake of the gospel. Writing to the Corinthians about the challenges he and his colleagues faced in Asia, he describes the pressure as being “far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself” (2 Cor 1:8). But he sees such challenges as teaching him to depend even more on God. That’s why later in the same letter he can say:

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2 Cor 4:8-10)

Micah, I suspect, would have related. There was nothing easy about what he had to do. It was dangerous, confusing, heartbreaking work. But if Micah ever hit the wall, the God who called him gave him the strength to break through.