If I’m running you better run, too!  If I am running furiously and awkwardly then something is chasing me that is going to hurt me.  I chuckle imagining myself running but I know if I was suddenly chased by something or someone who might do harm, I could probably sprint to find safety. 

Spiritually, we are all running from something it seems.  At times we run from the wisdom of a disciplined life and seek our own way which leads to bad outcomes.  We run from responsibilities to just go have some “fun” and end up in a place we rather not be.  We run to those who seem to have it all together only to find they are in worse shape than we are.  We run to parents who struggle as much as we do.  Often, we just give up and run away from it all.  We have been running to all the wrong people and places!

We discover running away just leads to more regret, more sin, more disillusionment, more sadness and deep depression that is hard to escape.  We thought running away would be our escape!  But it is not.

David is running from enemies who want to physically harm him.  They lie about him to his people and they want him to die.  These psalms are called Messianic Psalms because this is what happened to Jesus.  Remember the One who died and rose again for us as we read and worship God.  Praise God for His saving grace when we run to Him!

RUN, but run to God!  God is the one and only who saves us, protects and provides for us. 

Run to God for dear life…a precious, abundant and full life!

Psalms and Proverbs

Worship and Wisdom

Psalm 7

^1-2 God! God! I am running to you for dear life;
    the chase is wild.
If they catch me, I’m finished:
    ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions,
    dragged into the forest and left
    unlooked for, unremembered.

^3-5 God, if I’ve done what they say—
    betrayed my friends,
    ripped off my enemies—
If my hands are really that dirty,
    let them get me, walk all over me,
    leave me flat on my face in the dirt.

^6-8 Stand up, God; pit your holy fury
    against my furious enemies.
Wake up, God. My accusers have packed
    the courtroom; it’s judgment time.
Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel,
    throw out the false charges against me.
I’m ready, confident in your verdict:
    “Innocent.”

^9-11 Close the book on Evil, God,
    but publish your mandate for us.
You get us ready for life:
    you probe for our soft spots,
    you knock off our rough edges.
And I’m feeling so fit, so safe:
    made right, kept right.
God in solemn honor does things right,
    but his nerves are sandpapered raw.

^11-13 Nobody gets by with anything.
    God is already in action—
Sword honed on his whetstone,
    bow strung, arrow on the string,
Lethal weapons in hand,
    each arrow a flaming missile.

¹⁴ Look at that guy!
    He had sex with sin,
    he’s pregnant with evil.
Oh, look! He’s having
    the baby—a Lie-Baby!

^15-16 See that man shoveling day after day,
    digging, then concealing, his man-trap
    down that lonely stretch of road?
Go back and look again—you’ll see him in it headfirst,
    legs waving in the breeze.
That’s what happens:
    mischief backfires;
    violence boomerangs.

¹⁷ I’m thanking God, who makes things right.
I’m singing the fame of heaven-high God.

TRUTH:  God makes things right.  He is God and we are not.  RUN TO GOD!

Proverb 5

Nothing but Sin and Bones

^1-2 Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom;
    listen very closely to the way I see it.
Then you’ll acquire a taste for good sense;
    what I tell you will keep you out of trouble.

^3-6 The lips of a seductive woman are oh so sweet,
    her soft words are oh so smooth.
But it won’t be long before she’s gravel in your mouth,
    a pain in your gut, a wound in your heart.
She’s dancing down the primrose path to Death;
    she’s headed straight for Hell and taking you with her.
She hasn’t a clue about Real Life,
    about who she is or where she’s going.

^7-14 So, my friend, listen closely;
    don’t treat my words casually.
Keep your distance from such a woman;
    absolutely stay out of her neighborhood.
You don’t want to squander your wonderful life,
    to waste your precious life among the hardhearted.
Why should you allow strangers to take advantage of you?
    Why be exploited by those who care nothing for you?
You don’t want to end your life full of regrets,
    nothing but sin and bones,
Saying, “Oh, why didn’t I do what they told me?
    Why did I reject a disciplined life?
Why didn’t I listen to my mentors,
    or take my teachers seriously?
My life is ruined!
    I haven’t one blessed thing to show for my life!”

WISDOM:  Stay focused on God’s wisdom, His skills for living a disciplined life.  Turn your eyes to Jesus.

“Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So, he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”  John 10:6-10, The Message

Abby Father,

Show us your will, purpose and plan for us daily.  Help us to live a life that pleases you and leads to abundant living with no regrets.  I am your servant, teach me about life everlasting.  I’m listening.  In Jesus Name, Amen