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Would you love to catch the next flight to some forgotten island and leave no forwarding address? Running away sure looks appealing sometimes, doesn’t it? I sure have those feelings of wanting to run away from everything occasionally.
King David felt that way, too. He wrote, Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest (Psalm 55:6).
Maybe your job is just driving you crazy. Could be a difficult boss or a boring job; could be the people you work with or too much work. Or perhaps you’re having troubles with relationships; they can make you want to fly away. Maybe it’s your spouse, or your child, or some other family member. Could be a close friend, a romantic relationship. Undoubtedly for many people it’s financial worries that make them want to run away.
Whatever it is that’s giving you the run-away blues, I want you to know you’re not alone. I remember when I begged God to let me out of a job I was in. I wanted out so badly, I thought I couldn’t take another day. But God made it clear to me he had a purpose in keeping me there for a while longer. And finally, I agreed to submit and stay there until his time was up.
I look back and see why: I needed to learn many spiritual lessons in that spot, and now I wouldn’t take anything for those lessons. There were people with whom I formed friendships and shared the meaning of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I wouldn’t have missed that opportunity for anything. And, like icing on the cake, the business knowledge I gained by hanging in another couple of years gave me the resource and experience I needed to start my own consulting company.
It’s easy to see that now, but at the time all I could do was simply agree with God to persevere.
Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully (2 John 8).
Most of us give up just before the victory! And when we do, we waste all the hard work and effort that’s been poured into our lives.
I want to encourage you today to persevere. Say with King David instead of running away you will cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken (Psalm 55:22).