Don’t Run Away

Have you ever been in a situation where you feel like you just walked into the pit of hell and everything inside you is screaming RUN? Chaos, confusion, this frying pan is HOT — and the kicker is the fact that you said yes to this. You put yourself in this position.

You’re the one who opened your home to a troubled foster child, you’re the one who said yes to a new job that was supposed to move you closer to your career goals, or even yes to a marriage that feels like WW III. Maybe you’re the one who stepped up to care for a parent with worsening dementia and now you’re left carrying a weight that grows heavier with each passing day.

When there’s no going back, when you’ve committed yourself to this task and fight or flight is kicking in and you’re desperately considering flight — that’s when you must buckle down and get ahold of God for this situation. 

I’m trusting you sought God before you committed, albeit probably not realizing the land mines that lay in this path. But before you run, you’ve got to remember that God is there. If he led you to this place, he can also keep you in this place, no matter how hot the fire or how high the flames.

“I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of Sheol, you are there… even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” (Psalm 139:7-8, 10)

Heaven or hell, God is there. He can turn dark into day. He can illuminate your heart and your mind and give you the wisdom, the guidance, the strength — what it takes — to see this thing through and to come out on the other side. To realize what you envisioned when you first committed. A happy family, a blessed marriage, a mother or father that may not recognize you anymore but who feels cared for and loved.

Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked run when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.” This is not the time for flight. No one is chasing you, God is with you. This is the time to be bold and fight.

Fight for why you said yes, believe for it — and don’t run.