~2 Corinthians 4:8-9~
We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair; We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed;
When the weight of stress and responsibility presses all around you there are certain things, well a lot actually that you can’t run from as much as you would like to. While driving along up in the hills the other weekend to visit some family, the tranquillity that I began to sense all around just made me want to escape and stay there with them – the greenery of the forest, the open fire, the crisp fresh air, the innocence of children and nature. I turned and said to my husband jokingly “If you like, just drop me off anywhere on the side of the road and I’ll head off into the bush. Tell people I have gone walk about!” He laughed but knew the element of seriousness in my joke.
I was experiencing a strong feeling of wanting to run away from things, the things that feel as if they are crushing me and it feels like there is nowhere to run that will really allow escape, I can’t escape from my thoughts, my world etc and neither can you. Even the best I could do that day in the hills was forget about certain things for an hour till they came rushing back into my head. And, even if I did run, how true is it to say that ‘you can run but you can’t hide’!
One big obstacle to running is the fact that most of the issues we want to run from are actually responsibilities. There is an element of ‘no option’ involved isn’t there. Yes some people will say ‘there are always options’ but there are some things you just can’t make go away, only find the way to deal with them. I have learnt though, through many painful and boundary less experiences of the past that there is a balance to be struck between responsibility and guilt and we need to strike it well in order to succeed and find peace.
Circumstances cause anxiety to rise, and we have to face what is in front of us and up ahead of us. The only way I can do this is one day at a time and one minute at a time. How do I avoid taking on responsibility in an out of balance way when these things are delicate? Well I need to find my boundaries and I need to offload the weight of responsibility where it belongs. For me where it belongs is in the hands of God. It was only a few days later that through a lot of prayer and support by close friends that I began to feel the weight lift off me and God’s supernatural peace settled in a very strong way.
In the end though my challenge is to make the choice not to run, not hide but also not carry what I can’t carry and not try and fix what I can’t fix.
In the bible Habakkuk 3:17-19 says “Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation! And [Romans. 8:37.] The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!
The things we ‘know’, like information, is one of the things that makes us responsible in life, so ignorance can be bliss too sometimes , another thing that makes us responsible are commitments that we have, and we can’t run from most of those. Consequences will usually end up dictating what our course of action will be! So what do we do when we feel we have no choice? What do we do when we feel trapped and unable change our situations? Well if this is where you find yourself, like I have felt at times there is only one thing to do… bunker down, get in and get close to God and He can give you everything you need to get through.
The truth is in reality although we may perceive that we are trapped, with God on our side nothing is impossible. It says that He will not tempt us past what we are able but will make a way of escape for us. I have found recently that as I have made the move closer to him that what has looked like a dead end street can actually have a camouflaged turn or way of escape but it’s only found the closer we get to it. If we continue to see the street as a dead end we will never find the way out that is hidden there at the end because we can’t see it with all our avoidance of it altogether. I have learnt to pray now ‘Lord your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. When I pray like this the hopelessness is taken out of my situation and a ‘rock like’ assurance is the replacement!
God’s will for my life and for His Kingdom is for good, for the better and for best. Though I may feel trapped He can show me something that I can’t see in what is happening around me. I can also pray ‘Lord you line things up in my life according to Your will’. That means that I merely open myself to Him changing things around and then if He shows me things will be changing I can manage to cope with it as change may not be something you really want to face at all.
Usually when we want to run from something the other thing that is going on is that there is probably something there in us and around us that needs to be looked at. It is probably an area where growth or healing needs to occur. Now if we are praying God’s will and walking in His ways he wants to bring us healing so He will manoeuvre things around in order to achieve the desired result.
God will bring the freedom that we need. Try not to head off into the bush like I thought was a good idea, for a start (even though I was only imagining) I didn’t have what was needed to do that either. It would mean I wouldn’t take care of things that I need to. If I get close to God then I can let him reveal what the next move is. As I have shared with some friends recently, I don’t get myself in a pickle trying to figure out what that next move, His will is for my life. I just ask him to line things up and give me eyes to see and ears to hear what it is and then I rest in His strength and find peace for the next leg of the journey. I don’t have to run except to him, and hiding from God is impossible anyway!!!!!!!!!!
~By Cam Richmond~
~Written in June 2010~
~Written in June 2010~
Prayer for Today…
My prayer today is… ‘Lord help trust you today. Help me to face the things that I want to run from and give me a dose of your supernatural peace which passes all understanding’.
Word For Life
Run:
Move fast by using one’s feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time. Escape or flee; take to one’s heels; cut and run.
Move fast by using one’s feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time. Escape or flee; take to one’s heels; cut and run.
Hide:
Prevent from being seen or discovered; Be or go into hiding; keep out of sight, as for protection and safety. Go into hiding or conceal oneself; cover as if with a shroud; make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing.
Prevent from being seen or discovered; Be or go into hiding; keep out of sight, as for protection and safety. Go into hiding or conceal oneself; cover as if with a shroud; make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing.
Quotes
“It’s not hard to find the truth. What is hard is not to run away from it once you have found it.” ~Unknown~
“You can’t run away from trouble. There ain’t no place that far.”~ James Baskett~ (American Actor, 1904-1948)
“He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.” ~Socrates~
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