Once again He showed me a very valuable lesson through my everyday life. As it turns out my knee is healed up enough to begin running. Being that I was a runner in my early adult life, I naturally reminisced to those experiences. Those memories were led to how running became a metaphor for my life experiences. That, then graduated to a spiritual metaphor. So my sermon became a testimonial sermon. So here's my story.
Running became a pattern for me, physically and emotionally. I was quick to bolt whenever difficulties confronted me. This ranged from not wanting to confront my own emotions as they pertained to my biological father all the way to avoiding consequences of my actions.
I became a beleiver at the age of 8. I quickly grasp the whole idea of being an active christian. My mother was convinced that I was destined for ministry when I led my third grade teacher, Ms. Stansbury, to the Lord. I remained a proactive believer well into my teens. But then something happened. I soon developed a desire for independence. I became a bit rebellious not only to my parents but also God. At the time I was dating (somewhat seriously) a wonderful, christian gal. Feeling a bit opressed by my faith I sought after a "worldly" girl. So April and I started seeing eachother. It wasn't long before my parents gave me the ultimatum; shape up or ship out. Two problems; I was hard-headed and broke. Running from God.
I entered boot camp in the early fall of 1985. I figured God didn't hang out in the military. In the military I met some "wonderful" people who showed me things I had never experienced before. I quickly was engulfed in a lifestyle that we referred to as "partying". In reality, it's getting high and drunk as often as possible. For those of you who have never partaken in such behavior, the drugs and alcohol aren't the issue. It's what those things do to your thought process. I engaged in activities that even I have a hard time believing. Things like messing around with Ouja boards (ask me about it). How about knocking on a door and having it answered by a 44 magnum pressed to my forehead. Running from God.
I eventually got into trouble and the U.S. Navy thought it best to remove me from those who were influencing me. So they removed me from my roomates and assigned me to a room with just one other guy. Since I had joined the Navy I had shared a room with anywhere from 5 to 80 other guys. This was going to be great. Turns out this guy was a believer. I don't mean your typical christian. I don't know what the apostle Peter looked like but I am certain he sounded just like my new roomie. Great! Running from God.
I took a discharge rather than deal with my new roomate. Back to the civilian world. I decided that I was going to live an independent life. I wasn't going to let anybody dictate my activities.
I suppose the desire for independence is what drove me into rebellion. Then April reentered my life. Running from God.
April was safe for me. She didn't seem to have any interest in religion. She adored me. And let's face it, she's hot. We married in February 1989. A year later 364 days later Aaron was born. I don't know what happens to women when they become mothers but it is quite miraculous. All of the sudden April had questions, spiritual in nature. She eventually talked me into taking her to a Bible study. Looking back, if I was avoiding God, why would I take my unsaved wife to a Greg Laurie study? Oh yeah, you guessed it. She went and got herself saved. It was only one study and it wasn't all that good, go figure. Running from God.
Must leave. Cannot afford to have my wife anywhere near that church. Where? Where? Wyoming! God ain't there. Heck, He hadn't finished creating it yet. Must of forgot about it. I'll be safe there...
Walt worked at the cement plant with me. Walt was a black man married to a white woman in southeast Wyoming. That limits your social options. He and I connected. Nice guy, former NFL running back with the Dallas Cowboys. We had a lot in common. Then he had to ruin everything. He through down the gospel to me. He didn't do a very good job and I told him so, even gave him a couple of pointers (the last of which was to leave me alone). Running from God.
We moved back to California but an hour and a half away from that church. Safe. We adjusted well to our new surroundings. We became active in our community (PTA, athletics, even coaching youth sports) and made friends. April, aparently was not in tune with my agenda because she made friends with a neighbor lady who sang on the worship team at the local baptist church. April went without me once and loved it. Figures! She told me all about it. She said that I should go with her and check it out. No problem! I already knew the baptist were weird. I would go and point out all their errors and put an end to this. Running from God.
After the service, I was angry with April. She had obviously spoken to the pastor and told him all about me prior to his message. I mean it was blatantly directed towards me. Later on that week I confronted the pastor with my accusation. Turns out he didn't even know who April was. No more running from God.
Psalm 139:1-12 tells us a few things regarding our relationship with God. For one, He knows all about us. He knows our thoughts, intents, goals, methods and even our words before we do or say them. Much less, He knows us more intimately than we can even conceive. The scripture says that we cannot attain even the understanding of how intimately He knows us. Secondly, it says that He is always there. In the good times and the bad. In the light and in the dark. Verse 7 rhetorically asks, "Where can I hide from your Spirit, where can I flee from your presence?" Answer, you can't. Once you give your life to Him, you are His. He will never leave you. Matthew 28:20 says that Christ will never leave you nor forsake you. There are two reasons why He won't leave you or forsake you. First, He loves you. Second, you are His. So, if you've been running from, avoiding or rebelling against God give up. Surrender. If you are His then every time you run from Him you will run into Him. He won't give up so save yourself the trouble and surrender.
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