I am being followed by someone and I can’t shake them off. Wherever I go, they are there and although I can’t always see them when I look hard enough I can find them.
I feel like I can’t escape from this person. If I climb a mountain or hide in a deep dark hole they are there, if I get up early in the morning and travel far away across the sea they are still there. Even in the darkest corner I cannot hide from them, there is just no way to give this person the slip.
If this person was some kind of random stalker I would be terrified but the constant presence of God is a real comfort and help.
Psalm 139.7-12 reminds us of all of these places and situations that God’s presence is and it also inspires us to realize the difference that God wants to make.
God finds me in the dark and he brings his light and shines in the darkness.
When I travel far away to new places, God is there to strengthen and to guide me.
You see, there is nowhere that I can go to escape from God’s presence.
Last Sunday at Orchard Baptist we played a game where I asked one of the children to run away (no, not from me) and another child had to try to stay next to them as they ran. It was such a lot of fun, I mean how often do you get to run around in a church service! Mostly it was a game of chase with one person trying to escape the other and in one instance the person chasing was faster and they tried to block the other person into a corner to stop them getting away. One person though was caught up with quite quickly and when they realized that they couldn’t get away then two of them just ran around next to each other. For me, this was a real picture of what life with God should be like (I’m hoping that the running is optional though!).
God is with us always. Sometimes we ignore him and sometimes we do things that we know will cause him pain and sadness but he sticks with us. The best way forward is to choose to focus on and to listen to God. As we let him, lead, guide, strengthen and transform us, life will change and we will see more of the things that are important to God happen in us and around us as God’s Kingdom grows and expands.
Jesus told a story of a sheep that ran away, but the shepherd pursued it and brought it safely home. You see, you cannot run away from God!
The Bible says that God is like our shadow. His presence is always with us even when we can’t see it.
God really is closer than you think!
(These three links will take you to pages where you can read more about each subject).
God longs to have a relationship with us, but the choice is ours. Will we turn to and acknowledge him or will we go our own way.
Although we may try to run away from God, he will never run away from us. I hope you enjoy this music video.
Honest about my faith 