Nowhere to Run

Have you ever tried to run away from God? While not proud of that fact, I must confess that I have. Or at least that’s what I thought!

Don’t get me wrong; I did push God aside. Actually, it was more like I “showed Him the door!” The good news, however, is that He never left. I just didn’t realize it until tonight.

As I was sitting in church this evening I found myself thinking about how far I thought(!) I had run from God, when all of a sudden I got this very clear picture of sitting on a rock in the desert (where I’ve been for the last 10 months) and Christ sitting on a rock across from me. That’s when I realized "the joke was on me,” as these verses from Psalm 139 came to mind:

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? To be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there! If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon, You’d find me in a minute – You’re already there waiting! (Psalm 139: 7-10 / The Message)

Although I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve read these words, this was the first time when I really, truly realized that no matter where we go, God is literally right there beside us. And while this thought can be a source of great comfort in times of trial, it can also be a source of great pain during those times when we choose to walk down the path of sin.

Therefore, if you think you can run away from God I would seriously encourage you to guess again! For while you may think He's nowhere to be found, the truth of the matter is that He's standing right there beside you waiting for you to come home.
✞