Wednesday, April 22, 2009

RUN!!!

Have any phrases that repeat themselves over and over in your mind? I have many. One that comes up a LOT is the line from the movie Forrest Gump which his friend Jenny says every time he’s in trouble. “Run, Forrest, Run!”

Often, when I think of running in the spiritual sense, I picture resisting evil or fleeing for cover or safety when I’m in trouble. Verses like these come to my mind:

“…they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31b
“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance…”  Hebrews 12:1b
In other words...
"Run, Laura, Run!"

I’ve become a pretty strong runner spiritually, even though sometimes I sprint in the wrong direction, forcing the Lord to help me out of the woods. But lately, He's reminded me to race with a different end in mind.

My friends regularly get a chuckle out of the fact that I call myself a female David. “I’m Davidia,” I’ll joke with them. That could seem like I’m bragging, because after all David is known as the man “after God’s own heart.” But that’s not the part of David's character I'm referring to. I’m talking about his high highs and his low lows. I mean, is there anyone else in the Bible that expresses his gut feelings—praise ones or depressed ones—to the Lord so vulnerably and vehemently? When it’s praise time, the goin’ is good. But when it’s down in the dirt time, it ain’t so pretty. (Bear in mind, though, that David almost always praised the Lord even in the midst of his low moments…this is not a quality of his that I’ve mastered yet).

It’s no wonder I run to the Psalms whenever I need company with my mood swings. Sometimes, Depression surfaces from somewhere within me, and I know I need to run fast and hard from it. The Lord is teaching me, though, that it’s not really about what I’m running FROM, it’s about who I’m running TO

I’m not running from my depression, I’m running to the Maker of joy. 
I’m not running from temptation, I’m running to the God of righteousness. 
I’m not running from my own personal prison. I’m running to the One who set me free.

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

"Run, Laura, Run!"

How about you? Are you running from or to?

At one point in the movie that I mentioned above, Jenny says something to Forrest as she is getting ready to hitch a ride away from him and her problems for the dozenth time. “Listen. you promise me something, okay?” she begs. “Just if you’re ever in trouble, don’t try to be brave. You just run, OK? Just run away.”

Amen, Jenny. I couldn’t agree more in the context of this message. It’s not about us being brave enough. It’s about Him being strong in our weakness, for “God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.” (1st Corinthians 1:25b) So, just run, okay?

Run to Righteousness. 
Run to Joy. 
Run to Forgiveness. 
Run to Truth. 
Run to Grace. 
Run to the Lord.

Run, Believer, Run!


“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; 
the righteous run to it and are safe.” 
Prov. 18:10


This is a devotional sent out via email to my lovinthearts.com subscribers. If you would like to receive these in your inbox, simply click here and add your email address. http://www.lovinthearts.com/SubscribeForm.html


All Scriptures are taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
Quotes from Forrest Gump were taken from imdb.com.


18 friends shared a comment:

Terri Tiffany said...

One of your best posts!Do we run away or to? I love this. ANd I have been trying hard to run TO GOd and not away from my problems. And you know, when I do, I always feel better:)

Betsy Markman said...

Oh boy did I need this today! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I'm awfully good at running away, and lately there have been a lot of spiritual "lows," but I haven't been so good at running TO the right place and the right Person. Thank you again.

Yvonne Blake said...

wow... yes, I love that thought of running toward God.

God runs toward us, too! Look at this..,

Luke 15:20
" But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

What a thought!

Michele Williams said...

Wonderful post!!! Running to God!! Amen!!!

LAURIE said...

Great devo! What or should I say WHOM are we running to? Thanks for sharing your heart with us today...Laurie

Joanne Sher said...

Excellent thoughts, and so true! Running TO the right place is key.

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

Beautifully put my friend. But now I have a mental picture of Tom Hanks running for his life! LOL.
THANKS!
Love you my sweet friend.
Kim

Tracy said...

This is beautiful! There really were a lot of great nuggets in that movie. Sometimes I run from, sometimes I run to, but He is there whichever way I run. Thanks for sharing.

TRUTH SHARER said...

Great Word today. Thanks for the positive reminder of our calling!

Choosing JOY,
Stephanie
[Kneeling in Prayer]

Denise said...

Amen. Run to Jesus.

Susan said...

Wow, great word Lauralee!!

My verse today spoke about this too.

Thanks for such an encouraging word.

Blessings♥

Billy Coffey said...

Exactly why I run to the Psalms, too.

I've run a lot in my life. Circles, mostly. Tried running from God many times, and yet as soon as I look back to see how far from Him I've gotten, I run right into Him.

And that's a very good thing.

Debra Kaye said...

Lalee,

I loved it when I got the devotional and I loved it again. I'm always going to picture running differently. I usually curl up in a ball and be still and tough it out ... I like running toward righteousness better...I like running toward the Lord and His truth and Grace and Forgiveness better.

Davidia...that could be me too ... curled up in a cave somewhere hiding out! lol (you're laughing aren't you?)

Love ya sweet sis!

word verification...kindrid...aaaahhh

lori said...

Oh girl...How nice of you to post such a personal one today...barely had to change the letters in the name.:) you are too kind!

Listen, I too am caught running...as much as I'd like to say running with endurance, it's at times more like running into brick walls...and they hurt! It's only then that I stop, catch my breath and usually fall back into the arms of my Lord....

This was just an inspired word!

love you!

lori

Tea with Tiffany said...

RUN, believer, run! I loved this post.

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Funny you should talk about running today; I posted about walking...about the days when we get a "pass" on our running.

You're right...we need to run hard and fast to Jesus on all occasions, but especially on those when we sense the shifting sands beneath our feet.

Such a great encourager to me, friend. Thanks for being in my life.

peace~elaine

Brook said...

I stand in agreement with your previous posters. What an ecouraging post! Very well written. :)

Peggy said...

Amen! Laura Lee! Running TO the strong tower along with you! I use to escape by RUNNING from...but found myself running to Him...and I'm so thankful I chose that instead of the route of other addictions.

I'm with you...let's run together from our down moods UP to His arms for COMFORT & PEACE & SOUND MIND:
righteousness, joy, forgiveness, truth, grace...Yes LORD, we'll RUN TO YOU!

Now I understand even better why we both ended up reading at Peter's!

There is HOPE in Our Savior's Loving Arms...He is our Strong tower! Thanks so much!

[As we try to escape the hole of darkness, we know the direction of the light, it's just, can we see its glimmer when we need it most?]

HOLD ON TO THE ONE WHO HOLDS ON TO YOU! I know I do!