Running Away
“Too often we fail to recognize that the only real solution to life’s God-sized challenges . . . is not to run away but to run toward God.”
Exodus 2:11-22 (NIV)
One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”
The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.
When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
“And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”
Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
Reflection
I was about 25 minutes into my run, and the sun was just rising over the misty morning back roads of Fairfield County. The backlit outline of a towering sycamore emerged on my left, soon followed by an even larger red oak looming in the fog on my right. I knew the route well, and passing those trees meant positive progress. Despite the slight stitch forming in my side and the intimidating hill I was ascending, my run was going fairly well as I trained for an upcoming half marathon. Though the distance — just over 13 miles — of the race initially seemed intimidating, a good training program that gradually increased in mileage was setting me up for success. I knew that by trusting myself and my training, the long miles I would be required to run in the end would be achievable.
Just like my training program helped me, our world has many programs today that help facilitate successful outcomes for daunting tasks. Think of all the best-selling, high-dollar training and educational resources that are available today to assist people in working toward their goals and personal ambitions.
But sometimes in life we face a task that seems impossible to achieve. For example, how can a Christ-focused spouse navigate a broken marriage and facilitate the faith walk of their children? In what ways can we deal with the devastating loss of a loved one? How can the chains of addiction be broken?
In many cases, when our best efforts initially fail to bring immediate success when dealing with these seemingly impossible situations, it often feels like the easier option is to simply run away. And this is precisely what Moses — one of the most revered leaders in the Old Testament — does when dealing with the consequences of his actions. He runs away into the desert. But while running away can seem like a quick, easy fix to complex problems, in most cases, the problem still looms. Too often we fail to recognize that the only real solution to life’s God-sized challenges (for which no easy self-help book exists) is not to run away but to run toward God.
Eventually, Moses learns this truth, for it is only after running away that Moses, through faith, chooses to run toward God and the incredible plan for his life.
Action steps
Prayer
Lord, please grant me wisdom to properly assess the challenges of my life and address them by running toward You. Please give me the faith to trust that You will lovingly guide me through life’s trials and help me learn the lessons I need to learn from the process. Amen.
One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”
The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.
When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
“And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”
Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
Reflection
I was about 25 minutes into my run, and the sun was just rising over the misty morning back roads of Fairfield County. The backlit outline of a towering sycamore emerged on my left, soon followed by an even larger red oak looming in the fog on my right. I knew the route well, and passing those trees meant positive progress. Despite the slight stitch forming in my side and the intimidating hill I was ascending, my run was going fairly well as I trained for an upcoming half marathon. Though the distance — just over 13 miles — of the race initially seemed intimidating, a good training program that gradually increased in mileage was setting me up for success. I knew that by trusting myself and my training, the long miles I would be required to run in the end would be achievable.
Just like my training program helped me, our world has many programs today that help facilitate successful outcomes for daunting tasks. Think of all the best-selling, high-dollar training and educational resources that are available today to assist people in working toward their goals and personal ambitions.
But sometimes in life we face a task that seems impossible to achieve. For example, how can a Christ-focused spouse navigate a broken marriage and facilitate the faith walk of their children? In what ways can we deal with the devastating loss of a loved one? How can the chains of addiction be broken?
In many cases, when our best efforts initially fail to bring immediate success when dealing with these seemingly impossible situations, it often feels like the easier option is to simply run away. And this is precisely what Moses — one of the most revered leaders in the Old Testament — does when dealing with the consequences of his actions. He runs away into the desert. But while running away can seem like a quick, easy fix to complex problems, in most cases, the problem still looms. Too often we fail to recognize that the only real solution to life’s God-sized challenges (for which no easy self-help book exists) is not to run away but to run toward God.
Eventually, Moses learns this truth, for it is only after running away that Moses, through faith, chooses to run toward God and the incredible plan for his life.
Action steps
- Take a moment right now to reflect on your life and determine whether or not you are running away from something.
- Pray and ask the Lord to help you discern if there are problems in your life that are too big to handle on your own. If there are, ask Him to help you find ways to address them with His help.
Prayer
Lord, please grant me wisdom to properly assess the challenges of my life and address them by running toward You. Please give me the faith to trust that You will lovingly guide me through life’s trials and help me learn the lessons I need to learn from the process. Amen.
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