Maybe you feel trapped too. It’s been 10 weeks of social distancing and isolation and many of us have a welling up inside – a drive to get in the van and head west into a dream. I know that some people have already succumbed to those inner longings and left – left families, marriages, homes.
In this video, I share advice on healthy ways to respond to your inner runaway.
It’s natural to want to escape when we feel powerless and confined. Read what David has to say about it in Psalm 55:1-8
Listen to my prayer, O God.
Do not ignore my cry for help!
Please listen and answer me,
for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.
My enemies shout at me,
making loud and wicked threats.
They bring trouble on me
and angrily hunt me down.
My heart pounds in my chest.
The terror of death assaults me.
Fear and trembling overwhelm me,
and I can’t stop shaking.
Oh, that I had wings like a dove;
then I would fly away and rest!
I would fly far away
to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude
How quickly I would escape—
far from this wild storm of hatred.
I love David’s rawness. He says just how he feels, and I can relate! If I had wings right now, I would be OUTTA HERE! But we don’t have wings. So David talks to God, his constant companion, in verse 16:
But I call to the Lord God for help,
and he will save me.
Morning, noon, and night
my complaints and groans go up to him,
and he will hear my voice.
Did you catch that? Morning, noon, and night, he groans and complains to God! My skin starts to crawl and my jaw tightens up when my kids get the complaining bug. I can’t stand it! But God’s love and patience are immeasurably more than what is humanly possible or even conceivable. God isn’t like an earthly parent who runs out of patience. So go ahead – if you need to groan to him all day, do it! God is there for us no matter what, and the more we talk to Him, the greater our faith becomes. David concludes this Psalm with a statement of his unwavering faith in verses 22-23:
Leave your troubles with the Lord,
and he will defend you;
he never lets honest people be defeated.
But you, O God, will bring those murderers and liars to their graves
before half their life is over.
As for me, I will trust in you.
I think that says it all.
You may want to escape into these extended live worship songs and give yourself a 10-minute sabbath today. You may find yourself very refreshed!
Charmaine Rusin 