Where Do We Run?

I remember during my childhood, those akward years between child and teenager when nothing ever seemed to go right! I would trip, I would stutter, I would cry when I should laugh, laugh when I should cry, talk when I should be silent, not be able to answer when the answer is right inside of me, but will not come out! There were times when I would be so frustrated that I would run to the back yard of a neighbor's and climb up in their lemon tree just to hide. I would sit up there, surrounded by the lush green leaves, cry, and sometimes even scream out "WHY???!!!!" Who was I hiding from? Who was I yelling at? I sometimes thought (or, perhaps, hoped) that the tree would swallow me up and I'd never have to face anyone or anything ever again.

Ever feel like that? Like you just wanted to hide from the world? From the problems? From God?

Take a good look at Psalm 139:7-12
"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You."

Let us also take a look at 1 John 3:20 "whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything." Over and over in Scripture, in the Old Testament and the New, we are told that God searches and knows the heart! Since He knows us so well, why should we try to run and hide? On the contrary, we should run to Him when the pressures are too much!

Who better to run to than the One who knows us better than we know ourselves? Who better to turn to for comfort. For strength. For direction. For each and every need we could possibly have. Our Heavenly Father, our Abba Father - "Daddy"!

Now that I'm older, and probably could not even climb a lemon tree if one was around, have found that Abba's lap is always available. His arms always open. His love flowing ever freely. It is my prayer that as you re-read Psalm 139, in it's entirety, the Lord will open up to your heart that He is, indeed, the One you can run to at all times!

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