When We Run From God, We Run Into Him

When Adam and Eve sinned they hid from God.

[8] And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. [9] But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

God asked Adam, “Where are you?” It’s as if God was asking Adam, “Do you think you’re God now?” God makes it clear throughout Scripture that you cannot run from Him.  No man can hide from God.  If man can hide from God, that would make you equal to God.  Even the people that are in hell are experiencing God's judgment, not God's separation. According to Psalm 39:7-12, no man can escape God.

 [7] Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? [8] If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! [9] If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, [10] even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. [11] If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” [12] even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Do you ever feel like you're running from God?  Or feel like you are covered in darkness? Why do you think we believe we can run from God? The answer is, if we actually could run from God; that would make us like God. If we can actually hide from God that would make us equal to God. The fact is, when God chose you, sin can no longer separate you from God. Psalm 139:8, says, “even if I make my bed in hell, God is there!  If your sin was bigger than God's presence or love that would make you equal to God. I hope you see the amazing truth and love of God. He let’s nothing get between you and Him. Paul says in Romans 8:37-39

           

[37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It may feel like at times that we are separated from God, with some of the sin we commit, or the sin that is committed against us. But the absolute truth remains; we are always in the presence of God.

Remember this Christian, when we run away from God, we run into Him.

What I learned from Job

Job is one of the best books we have on learning how to suffer well. I have learned the same lessons that Job learned regarding my own suffering; how inward I go when I hurt.  I have looked at my own righteousness and justification, spending a lot of time rationalizing why I shouldn’t be suffering or spending a lot of time pondering on the good things that I have done (my righteousness) and therefore should not have to suffer.  Simply, I play the victim.

Job did this same thing. In chapter 31 Job spends the whole chapter speaking about how good he's been on Earth. He claims he fed the hungry; he clothed the naked. If you read all of chapter 31 in almost every verse Job says “I have done” this or that. In chapter 32 his friends even quit talking to him because they realize Job was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu comes on the scene in Chapter 32 and rebukes Job for justifying himself, or making himself seem like a god. In Job's mind and heart he had no reason to suffer; in Job's mind and heart he had no right to suffer because of all the good he had done. This is where I go when I hurt. I point out other people’s sin to the point where I can't see my own sin.

God comes on the scene in chapter 38 and almost sarcastically rebukes Job. It's like God is saying “really Job, you have done all these things? That was you who clothed the naked? That was you who fed the hungry?” God basically blesses Job by telling him, “you are not God”

I don't think the sin of self-righteousness just suddenly came out of Job, I think it was there the whole time, but it took suffering for Job to reveal the sin of self-righteousness. The same thing has happened to me.  The past several months have been the hardest season I can recall but at the same time I realize how self-righteous I had become. Yet God has blessed me the same way he blessed Job by saying, son, you are not God”. 

You know what the amazing thing is? In Job 42:5 Job says, “Before all this happened to me it was my ears that heard of you, but now my eyes see You!” This is amazing because Job now sees God even clearer than before. God used Job suffering to open him up more to His presence. I too, can say (now that I can repent of my self-righteousness) I see God in a greater way than before.

The depth of my sin reveals the Depth Of God's Love

Several months ago, I asked God to open my eyes more to Him. I was waiting for the blissfully overwhelming “good feelings” from a closer God. (When I say closer, I mean to say having my eyes more open to His presence, because the believer is never separated from God). I thought having my eyes more open to God meant my life would be less weighty, but what happened is I became weightier than ever.

I believe what God did was open my eyes more to my sin. Even a lot of the good things I was doing had wrong, sinful motives. The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to so many sinful nuances I had been blind to. I believe we have a ton of sinful nuances that we are not even aware of and that it would only take God the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see them. I think we would all be surprised how much we really sin. There are so many cracks and crevices in our flesh where sin can hide. My question is, how does sin hide? I think that's another blog.

At first I couldn't believe this would be the answer to a closer God. It is hard for me to believe that's what God has for me when I pray so fervently for a greater revelation of His presence in my life. God then showed me that the depth of my sin reveals the depth of God's love. God wasn't trying to show me how bad I was as much as He wanted to show me how good He was. I hope you see what an amazing grace this is. The more I see my sin; the more I cling onto His grace from the cross. It's still weightier but there's joy in the midst of weightiness.

In addition, I see that there is really no cure for sin; just death. The patient with sin just dies and there is no hope for a cure just death. Christ became my sin, for which there was no cure, so He died. Jesus couldn't beat sin. However, the good news is He beat death! Now I have the resurrected victorious life of Christ in me, so now when I sin I don't go inward to beat myself up as a form of payment for sin. Now I can live a life of thankfulness and humility because the depth of my sin reveals the depth of God's love.

You Can't Give Your Brother What He Deserves, Because God Didn't Give You What You Deserve ; Psalm 133 (day 27)

For this lent season, I am doing a forty-day study in the Psalms looking for aspects of the atonement that will end around Easter. My hope is to generate a newfound awe of what Christ did on the cross.

Psalm 133:1

[133:1] Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

Our unity is one of the most powerful tools we have to show off our loving God to an individualized world. One of the most powerful tools of the enemy is individualism, where man gets his identity from what he makes of himself by himself. You get to worship yourself as your own god; as you marvel at your own accomplishments.

God didn't make us independent; God made us interdependent. Have you ever wondered what keeps us so dis-unified? Or what is the chief opponent to unity? For me the answer is easy. It is either unrepentant sin; or unforgiving sin. In other words one person may not have acknowledged and repented of sin against another or he has repented and the other person has not forgiven him. Can you see the power of a people who live in unity even though we still sin against each other we have love for each other? The only way this happens is through the cross. Christ forgave us so we can forgive others, thus producing a God glorifying unity between His people. The world watches how we Christians  treat each other, and they see we are no different than them. Take some time today and asked God if there is someone you are out of unity with then ask God for the strength to forgive or ask for forgiveness. You see, you can't give your brother what he deserves because God didn't give you what you deserve.

When You Build Without The Lord You Have Nothing; Psalm 127 (day 26)

For this lent season, I am doing a forty-day study in the Psalms looking for aspects of the atonement that will end around Easter. My hope is to generate a newfound awe of what Christ did on the cross.

Psalm 127:1-2

[127:1] Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. [2] It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

What an amazing Psalm right? The Psalmist is telling us our work means nothing unless it's God doing the work. Can you ask yourself honestly how often you build things without God, or protect your family without God? You know that we can’t actually even read the Bible without God? Sounds crazy right? Or how many times have we planned something and then ask God to bless it rather than praying that God would build the plan for you. As I look for the cross in the Psalms I look at these types of Scriptures and I know that the cross doesn't jump out at you. So, I ask the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to the cross in these Scriptures. I don't have to shoehorn the cross in this Scripture but what I do see is my ability to do things in my own strength. So this Psalm reminds me not to walk in my own strength but walk in the strengths given to me by Christ and Him crucified. Paul says that the power of God comes through the cross

1 Corinthians 1:18

[18] For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Paul also says in the next chapter not to put your faith in man but in the power of God and we know the power of God is in the cross.

1 Corinthians 2:2-5

[2] For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. [3] And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, [4] and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, [5] so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

           

Paul concludes that everything he's going to do in his life as a human being on earth will come out of the cross of Jesus. Everything he plans will come out of the cross. His whole life will be centered on what Christ accomplished on the cross. That means that everything we do is going to come out of the strengths of God that comes in the face of our risen Savior Jesus Christ. Our life should be measured on what God accomplished not what we accomplish. 

The Word Is Alive Psalm 119 (day 25)

For this lent season, I am doing a forty-day study in the Psalms looking for aspects of the atonement that will end around Easter. My hope is to generate a newfound awe of what Christ did on the cross.

Psalm 119:105         

[105] Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 versus and the whole chapter is dedicated to the beauty of God's word. Verse 105 pretty much sums up what we read throughout Psalm 119. God's word is our ultimate authority and if we understand God's word; we understand the central theme of the word is the atoning work of Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Revelation all to the central work of Christ and him crucified; sin has been dealt with. I think we get lost in trying to use the Bible as an instruction manual, or using the Bible to feel better about our life on earth. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, and the love of God the Father, and the work of the Holy Spirit, I believe the word should be exalted and worshipped through.  We have to do more than just read the word; we have to embody the word and that is the work of the Holy Spirit because of what Jesus did on the cross the word now is written on our hearts fulfilled in us through Christ. So it's more than just reading the Bible; it's becoming the promises of the Bible. For example in Hebrews 4 the writer talks about the word of God is living and active. What does this mean you ask?

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

The “word” that is spoken in Hebrews 4:12 is most likely Jesus. That whole passage in Hebrews is about Jesus, so when it talks about the word being sharper than any two-edged sword, it’s easy to see that it’s Jesus; it’s the same Greek word used in John 1:1 which is also referring to Jesus. In the new covenant, God says He will put His Spirit within us. The job of the Spirit is to manifest and reveal Jesus to us and through us, and in Hebrews 4:12-13, it says, “The word pierces to the division of the soul and spirit discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Spirit discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart”. This means the word becomes alive in our soul as we embody the promises of God; we can live a transformed life.