Today's promise: God cares for the
persecuted
Have You Ever Wished
You Could Flee?
Oh, how I wish I had
wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the
quiet of the wilderness. How quickly I would escape — far away from this wild
storm of hatred.
Psalm 55:6-8 NLT
Nothing great was ever done without much enduring.
Catherine of Siena
Resist flight
David was a man after
God's own heart and a great, anointed king. But in many ways, he was just like
us. Psalm 55 is an example. When the pressure was on, David just wanted to run
away.
All of us have had
similar urges. When life gets intense and troubles seem to offer no way out, we
just want to get out of the situation. Every Christian who has been prepared by
God and stretched to his or her limits can relate: There are times when we would
do anything if God would just remove us from our trial. We'll pray for ways of
escape, but God often leaves us surrounded until His time is right.
God has no scorn for
such feelings. He made us and He knows our frailties. He understands our
impulse to flee from whatever difficulties we face. But He also insists on our
endurance, because it has spiritual results that nothing else can accomplish.
And there is no way to learn endurance other than simply to endure. We can't
learn it in principle or in theory; only pain can teach it to us.
The good news for
those who go through intense trials and suffering is that once the impulse to
flee is broken, God delivers. When endurance is complete, God removes the
tribulation we endured. Every fear is followed by blessing (Psalm 55:4-8,
16-18). Our God does not leave us in our troubles. He has put us there to
discover His provision; He will not withhold it indefinitely. There will
be a day of deliverance.
Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by
Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for May 16.
Content is derived
from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale
Publishing House
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