Running Away

May 3

Judges 3-4

Psalm 55:1-8

Proverbs 12:22-24

Luke 20:27-47

Running Away

“I said, ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest—I would flee far away and stay in the desert. I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.” Psalm 55:6-8

There are times in all our lives when we just want to run away. Troubles seem to be coming at us from all directions, our relationships are falling apart, people we trusted have let us down, bills are piling up, we can’t seem to do anything right and we just want to run away. In the moment it feels like there is no end to the struggle and we can see no light at the end of the tunnel. We just want to leave it all and get a fresh start. Maybe if we start over we can get it right this time. Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. We see this attitude all around us. If we aren’t happy in our marriage, we get a divorce. If we don’t like our boss or our coworkers, we quit our job. If we get mad at our pastor, we change churches. Quitting has become acceptable in our self-focused, "don’t worry, be happy" society. When our priority is being happy in the moment, we take the easy way out. We ignore our responsibilities and discount the effects our actions have on those around us. We justify and rationalize. God rarely lets us take the easy way out when we are seeking and following his guidance. He is much more concerned with our character than our comfort. Even when we make commitments that were not in his will for us, He doesn’t let us walk away until we have fulfilled our responsibility.

My children have gotten frustrated with me over the years because I will not let them quit things. They have joined sports teams and realized after a short time that they did not enjoy it. My husband and I never let them quit. They made a commitment to the team and they had to stick it out for the season. They did not have to do it again next season, but they could not quit in the middle of a season. Piano lessons, dance, and cheerleading have all come and gone with complaining, grumbling and a few tears. We didn’t make them stick it out because we wanted to be mean and torture them or because we wanted them to learn to play piano or dance or be a professional softball player. We made them stick it out because we wanted them to learn to honor their commitments. We don’t want them to be quitters. We are more concerned with their character than their comfort. There are times that we all want to run away and join the circus. Unfortunately, we may discover that the circus has a lot of the same problems because we were a big part of the problem. When we allow God to take over, He most often will make us stay where we are and deal with it as He molds us and changes us into the person He wants us to be.