To flee or not to flee?
Our regular bi-monthly feature, ‘Message from an Elder’ brings you something from the heart of one of our Elders. This month Barry asks: To flee or not to flee?
We have all been through times when it feels as if the whole world is against us, and doubtless we’ll go through such times again! We don’t always understand why this is so, especially when we may not be the direct cause of the problem, but we do feel threatened nevertheless.
It is at times like these that we need to find our refuge in God, as man does not have anything to offer. Psalm 118:8 tells us “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.”
God is our shelter, our protector - Psalm 34:6-7 says “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”
David goes on to say “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!”. We have to participate in the process of tasting else we can never know the flavour of food, likewise we have to put our trust in taking refuge in God and only then will we taste/experience the goodness and protection of God in our lives.
Our natural instinct is to flee from troubles. We see this with Moses (fled from Egypt); Jacob (fled to Haran from Esau); David (fled from Saul). Even if we are not physically persecuted, what it amounts to is that we effectively run from difficult relationships/responsibilities. We know we cannot run from God (Jonah tried unsuccessfully) but we do try to run from man.
So where should we run to? In the above examples they went to distant places, in some cases for many years, but God was working in and moulding their lives during this time.
So is there any point in fleeing from a situation? If the situation is of Satan and it will cause us to sin, then we are to flee from the temptation (like Joseph) and resist Satan.
We are told in 1Peter 5:9-10: “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” We are not alone and that should comfort us.
If however we are tempted to flee from a situation where we are merely uncomfortable, we should pause and seek God and ask what He is saying to us through that situation. Remember how Joseph remained faithful to God even when he was falsely accused and put in prison? It is often in those isolated times, as we draw close to God, that He strengthens us and matures us as Christians. Then we, like Paul, can also say “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,“
But as immature Christians we often want to flee from uncomfortable situations and not from those that cause us to sin! As we mature it is the situations that cause us to sin that we flee from and we are able to stand our ground in uncomfortable situations as we draw on God’s strength, wisdom and shelter.
The stories in the Bible are not given to us just as interesting historical information, but for us to learn from the lives of people that we can see have hearts just like ours. As in those accounts, God does not promise to take us out of tough situations but rather to be with us as we walk through the darkest valley (“I will fear no evil, for you are with me;” Ps 23:4).
When we are in God’s presence it is only then that we can obtain His peace. Philippians 4:6-7: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Remember that it is a spiritual war that Satan is having with our hearts and he will try every deception to get us to become ineffective for God. Let us come to God and ask Him to fight the battle for us, at the same time protecting ourselves with the full armour of God.
As with metals, heat is used to purify and temper (or strengthen), likewise God is with us in the furnace so that we can mature as Christians. So, are we fleeing from the situations that we should or just from those that make our lives not so comfortable, thereby remaining immature in our Christian walk?
