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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? 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.”
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 a close friend, a romantic relationship. Undoubtedly for many it’s financial worries that make them want to run away.
Well, whatever it is that’s giving you the run-away blues, I understand because I’ve been there. 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 that he had a purpose in keeping me there for a while longer.
I look back and see why: I needed to learn many spiritual lessons in that spot. There were people with whom I formed friendships and shared my faith and trust in Jesus. I wouldn’t have missed that opportunity for anything. And the business knowledge I gained by hanging in another couple of years gave me the resource and experience I needed to go out on my own which paved the way to begin this ministry.
Oh, it’s easy to see that now, but at the time all I could do was simply agree with God to persevere. Second John 8 says “ Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” 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 that instead of running away you will “cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.”