Did You Ever Run Away?

(via, hollyso )

Scripture(s):
Genesis 28:15“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you”

Affirmations from God:

You make your bed, now you must lay in it. We humans do some pretty stupid things, like running away from home, that cause us unnecessary hardships. Running away from home takes on many forms, literal running away, or with drugs or suicide. Remember how, whether you carried out your plan or not, the thought of running away from home, crossed our mind?

I remember very well that day. In my anger and frustration, after quarreling with my sister and mother, I jumped on my bike to escape for at least a few hours. I will not explain the events that took place, but during the next hour, fear overcame my anger, and I began calling out to God to help me as I peddled as fast as I could to get back home. The anger that caused me to runaway from home, was met with fear and in fear I acknowledged my need for God. God was with me and I made it back home.

Jacob was running away from his brother who wanted to kill him. Being tired from travel, “he took of the stones of that place, and put them of his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep"... and God appeared to him in a dream saying, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”He awoke and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not” (Gen. 28:10-11, 15, 16). If we get to the bottom of this story we know that Jacob came to this place in life out or disobedience to God. God had a plan of promise for Jacob long before he was born. But rather than trust in God, he chose to join his mother in living a life of deception against his brother and father, but more so against God.

Regardless the circumstances or situations and how Godless your condition may seem even if you are sleeping on the ground and a rock for a pillow, God is nearby. God will continue to search for the souls of the unsaved, and he will continue to draw us unto him. We can run away from home, but we cannot run away from God. God loves us and wants to free us from the things in life that we are running from. "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36).

Personal Application:

1.    Have you ever run away from home (physically or mentally)? Are you still running?

3.    God is with you right now. Acknowledge him. If you have not accepted him as Savior and Lord of your life, you can do that now. If you have, rededicate your life to him. Either way, He will get your through.

4.    Share your story of how God was there for you even when you did not know it.

Prayer:

Pray thanking God for his grace and mercy shown even though you did not know it. Pray for God to reveal himself to you even more clearly and that you will see Him and hear His voice speaking to you. Pray that he will set you free from the things you are running from, for He alone can set you free. Pray that you will not be distracted during this time but will focus on an intimate time Him in prayer and studying of His word.