58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Sometimes when things have been really hectic or stressful, I like to withdraw to my home and lock myself away there. This, from what I can gather, is pretty typical behavior.
When I and others get depressed, we want to climb in the bed and cover our heads and just sleep. It is an escape. Our human bodies handle hectic , stressful or overwhelming lifestyles and situations by escaping.
We all “escape” in different ways. Some of us (like me) would become a recluse and just barricade themselves in their home, others would go to bed and sleep, still others would just occupy themselves with mind numbing activities, some would try to get away with mini vacations and others may even escape through addictions.
But the Scripture provides us with guidance as to how to deal with these times in our lives and its not by running/hiding, it is by trusting God and the Scripture gives us examples to help us.
In Psalm 55, we find David fleeing from King Saul and in fear of his very life. He hides in a cave and is in fear because King Saul has a grudge against him and he hides in fear for his very life. David says that he is trembling in fear and refers to the fear as horror. He says that although he and the king were once familiar friends who took sweet counsel together, the king now has war in his heart for David. David expresses his stress and fear by saying “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; 7 yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness;”, how many of us have felt that way…probably everyone. But David then says that he prays to God Evening, Morning and at noon and that God hears his prayers, then in verse 22 he says “cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you;”. God delivers David from his pursuer and eventually becomes King himself.
In 1 Kings 19 we find Elijah fleeing Jezebel. She and Ahab were worshipers of baal and intentionally angered God and killed his prophets. Elijah stood up to them (as directed by God) and both Jezebel and Ahab threatened to kill him because of it. One day, God (through Elijah) kills the 450 prophets of baal and the next day Elijah is running in fear. In verse 4 Elijah feels so completely alone and is in such fear and depression that he tells the Lord that he has had enough and asks Him to take his life and then he lays down to sleep. But God doesn’t take his life, instead He sends an angel who provides Elijah with food and sends him on a 40 day journey to Horeb (the mount of God) where God meets and speaks with him. God informs Elijah that He has work for Elijah to do and, he is not alone. God has preserved 7,000 faithful followers. Elijah is so revived by his conversation with God that he heads out to accomplish all that God has called him too.
In Daniel 6 we find Daniel who is such a strong man of God and who has made himself so indispensable to the King that the other administrators devise a plan that will require him to be put to death in a den of lions, because he won’t stop worshiping God. Now one would think that Daniel would be fearful and distressed, but we do not see that in the Scripture. The one we do see, who is fearful and who withdraws, is the King. Because he cannot undo the decree he can only watch as Daniel (whom he has great affection for) is sealed up in the lions den. As Daniel is sealed in the King says “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” (verse 16). Verse 18 tells us that the king was so upset that he “returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.”. As soon as the sun began to rise, he hurried to the lions den (which was not even behavior a king should exhibit) and called out to Daniel ““Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” (verse 20). Then in verses 21 and 22 we see the outcome of Daniels night in the lions den “Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”. Through this terrible time, God did incredible things. God did not just rescue and preserve Daniel, but “King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: “May you prosper greatly! 26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”. The king recognizes that the God of Daniel is the one true and living God and decrees it to all of his people.
The greatest example we have, is always our Savior and in Matthew 26 we find Him in the Garden of Gethsemene, on the night that he is to be arrested and begin His journey to the cross and the Scripture tells us that He is sorrowful and troubled. (“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”). He comes out to find the disciples, that He has asked to sit with Him, asleep and after speaking with them we see “Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” and then coming out and finding them asleep a second time, verses 44-46 say – “So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” Our Savior knew the betrayal, mocking, pain, beating and crucifixion that He was facing and He was sorrowful and troubled. So much so that He asked the Father that if there was another way, let it be so…..but your will be done. Jesus didn’t escape (praise God), He suffered and endured, for us and now sits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, awaiting our arrival.
We have never been pursued by an angry king, sought to be killed for our faith, thrown into a lions den or faced the kind of brutality and death that our Savior did. Never the less, we have had trials and Jesus said that we would (“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33). He also says that He will minister to us in those trials (Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 1 Corinthians 1:3-4) so that we can minister to others in their trials.
God never left or abandoned these men or His Son and He won’t us either (It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8) and the Scripture confirms this in at least 9 verses (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5, Isaiah 41:1-13, 1 Peter 5:7, Hebrews 13:5-6, Matthew 28:20, 1 Chronicles 28:20).
God delivered each of these men and His Son from their trial and had victory over their situation and God will do the same for us. We just have to persevere and trust Him.
And, just as God had work for these men and Jesus, He has work for us.
We cannot lose focus of the work that He has for us (But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. 2 Timothy 4:5 (NLT).
The enemy will bring about trials for that very purpose. We must persevere, because eternal souls are at stake. But fear not, for God is with us.
We do not need an escape, He is our escape and our strength (God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1). When we face trials or attacks and become overwhelmed, depressed or stressed, in stead of running to the wilderness and hiding, we should heed our Savior’s example and run to our Heavenly Father and pray (do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6). To quote King David “cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you;”.
I pray that today we would face our trials, instead of running away or trying to escape. I pray that if we run or attempt to escape that it is straight into the arms of our refuge and strength, our Heavenly Father. I pray that we would trust Him with the outcome and the victory and that we would serve, honor, glorify. And, I pray that we would continue to go about the work our Heavenly Father has for us, just as our Savior did, because God is sending us to do His work. (“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish–the very works that I am doing–testify that the Father has sent me. John 5:36).
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and have been struggling through trials alone, longing to escape, I pray that right now you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. Our Heavenly Father adores you and longs to forgive you and be with you and to minister to you in your trials. Once you trust Jesus as Lord of your life, He will minister to you in every trial. And, God will never leave or forsake you.
Please pray this prayer and when you do, reach out to me at Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know. I’d love to be in prayer for you.
Luv Ya!
