What Are You Running From?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a runner. When situations get too stressful or overwhelming, I run. I run as far and as fast as I can. I would emotionally and sometimes physically check out. The thing about running though is that sooner or later, our situations always have a way of finding us. If we run forever, we will miss out on something beautiful. We will miss out on what the Father has in store for us.
Friendships can be scary. It can be easy to talk ourselves out of a friendship. We can want to run from friendships. When a friendship gets too hard or too complicated, we can want to check out. Opening up to someone is hard, and it can be not very comforting. But if we remain closed off, it can be lonely. We can miss out on being there for someone. We can miss out on letting them be there for us. Friendships can teach us how to trust. Friends can be there to lean on in our time of need. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 9“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. 10For if they fall, one will lift his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him”! We all fall. We all stumble. We were not created to be alone and not have anyone there to lift us in our time of need. We were created for friendship and fellowship with other believers of Christ.
The same rules apply to relationships. If we run from every opportunity to receive love and give love, we will really be missing out. 1st John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves knows God and has been born of God”. Love is a gift. Would you please not waste it? Don’t throw love away because you are afraid of it. Yes, we all have a past. Our pasts can be messy and complicated. It can be terrifying to open up and let others into our wounds and our pasts. If we know and trust the Father, we should believe that he created someone special for us all. He has someone in mind that will love us despite our past mistakes and our past hurts. Genesis 2:24 “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh”. If you run from love, you miss the chance to be united as one with someone. You will miss out on that beautiful relationship. Don’t let fear stop you from loving.
Now I want you to take a deep breath. Please close your eyes and ask yourself, what am I afraid of. What am I running from? Is it friendships? Is it relationships? Is it a new situation? The fear of being rejected or misunderstood? Whatever you are running from, stop. Start training yourself to instead run to the Father. You have anxiety and fears; run to the Father with them. Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”. Don’t lose heart, dear readers; your fears are no match for the Father. He is holding you up with his mighty and loving hands. I find that amazingly comforting. Just knowing that he is ready and willing to help me makes me smile.
I don’t know what you are facing. I don’t know what mountain you are climbing. I don’t know what your Mount Everest looks like. What I do know is that you don’t have to climb it alone. You don’t have to get so frustrated and overwhelmed by it that you run from it. Instead, choose to run to it with confidence, knowing that the Father is running with you. Psalm 121:1-2 1“I lift my eyes to the mountains- where does my help come from? 2My help comes from the LORD the Maker of heaven and earth”. Instead of looking at your mountain with fear, look at it with confidence! Remember that when you call upon the Father, he will listen. He will help you. Even if you have a little bit of faith, use it and call upon him. Matthew 17:20 “He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you”. Amazing things can happen when we choose to trust and believe in the one that makes the impossible possible. Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain”. He’s going to lower your mountains. He has the power to shrink them and make them melt away. Keep climbing them. Please don’t give up with his help; you are going to make it to the top. The ground you are climbing on might be unsteady now, but he is smoothing it out for you. He’s making way for you. He doesn’t want you to run from the mountains of life anymore.
To this day, I’m still a runner. I still feel those urges to run. Those intense fight-or-flight emotions still come over me. The difference now is I run to the Father. I run to him when I’m anxious. I run to him when I’m overwhelmed. I run to him when I’m scared. I run to him because he will run the races of life with me. He will tell me to keep going when it feels like I can’t go on. He will give me his strength when I feel like I have none of my own. If I stumble, he will be there, reaching out and picking me up again. He loves me, and he wants me to finish well. He wants me to stay in the race. He wants me to cross the finish line with him right by my side. 2nd Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept my faith”.
In the end, we are all fighting the good fight each day. It can be hard to keep fighting. The journey can seem long and never-ending at times. Just remember that Jesus fought first, and with the Father, he won. Death was no match for him! The powers of darkness and evil stood no chance! Don’t fight alone. If Jesus can win his battles, then so can we. Jesus didn’t quit the race. He stuck in there even when it was hard. Even when his body and soul cried out, let the Father fight with you. Finish your race with the power of faith, prayer, and his written words. Finish your race with him. Finish your race because you are worth it. Finish your race because you were not created to give up. The Father has a plan and purpose for you. He’s not done with you yet. Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”. The Father doesn’t want you to run away from everyone and everything. No, he wants you to stand your ground. He wants you to learn how to be firmly rooted in him. Firmly rooted in faith. Firmly rooted in a love that won’t fail you.
Author: Nadia M. Walker
Editor: JJ Michael Smith
God bless,
igotasavior
