Running From God

I spent several years of my life running from God. No matter where I went, he was always there. I traveled half way around the world, to get away from God. It did not work. No matter where you go or how hard you try, you can never get away from God. That is if you are saved and one of his children. The idea of not being able to get away from God is terrifying to many.

Let's start out by defining why God can be so scary to some believers. When a person gets saved, they become a child of God. When God becomes your father, he now has authority over your life. He sets the rules and the expectations for his children. All of God's children are to obey his orders. If they do not, there will be consequences. If a person decides that their own will, is more important than God's will, then they will disobey. People have their own desires and needs. They have dreams for their lives. Some people have an idea of what they want their life to be like, from the time they were little kids. They want what they want, but God wants what he wants. You see, God also has a plan for a persons life from the time they are born. The problem occurs when a persons plan clashes with God's plans. Many believers, myself included, want to live for themselves. We want to gratify our flesh. God does not approve of this at all. He may let it go on for a little while, but he will eventually put an end to it. When it comes to a human being against God, God wins every time. People do not like being denied the life that they want, so they begin to scheme and plan on how to achieve the life of their dreams. They will look to everything in the world accept God. I believe these people, forget about God. I do not believe they purposefully defy God. For me, I got saved and more or less forgot about it. I got swept up into the world. The cares of this life choked out the things of God. When this happens, God sends a wake up call. That is when the chase can begins.

For me, I did not heed Gods warnings. I did not submit to his chastening, I ran. Not at first, but over time I learned to run. It started with scheming. I was going to be a successful real estate investor. That would solve my financial problems and get me out of the dead end jobs that I had been working in. At first, it showed promise, but quickly fell apart. I did bad deal after bad deal and messed up my finances. I was worse off then when I started. After that dreamed crashed and burned, I decided I would move to Thailand to fulfill my worldly desires. I would make it as a stock trader, and live the good life on the cheap. Some how everything would work out over there. I was shocked when I got there, it was nothing like I thought. None of my plans worked out. The whole thing blew up in my face and I was again worse off than when I started. I have no doubt those things would have worked for a lost man, but God would not allow those things to work for me. I was living in disobedience and outside of his will. God does not bless such things. I tried to run away from God, but he was there when I got there. I was not trying to run from God, but toward the life that I wanted. Unfortunately when a believer is not running to God, he is running away from God. This is not a good position to be in. You will be worse off then where you started. Jonah tried to run from God and he kept going down. Down to down to Joppa, down into a ship, down into a fishes belly. Eventually he was spit up on the shore and given a second chance at life. This time he obeyed God. When we try to run from God, we always go down.

The best thing to do as a Christian is to run toward God and the calling he has for your life. Turn away from all the sin and disobedience. When you live for God, he will give you an increase and you will be better off. Pray to God and study his word to learn his will for your life. Then spend your life running after the things he has set before you. The Apostle Paul says that we are running a race. My question to you is, how will you run your race. Will it by toward God or away from him?

1 Corinthians 9: 24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

Philippians 3:

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you are not a Christian, I invite you to get saved now. Tomorrow may be to late. To get saved all you have to do, is admit that you are a sinner and that Jesus Christ died for your sins. The only way to take away sins is with the pure shed blood of Jesus Christ. Good works can not take away sins. If they could, then Jesus Christ died in vain. Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead as payment for all sins. Once you believe that, you are saved forever. You did nothing to earn it and you can do nothing to lose it.

Romans 3

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

John 3

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Galatians 2

16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.