Fleeing and Forsaking

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2:13

In 1981 California police departments were conducting an intense search for a stolen VW Bug. They went so far as to put out information on local radio stations. They were doing everything they could to try and contact the thief. Their concern wasn’t so much about recovering the car, as it was that they felt that the thief’s life could be in danger.

When the owner of the car reported it stolen, he explained that there was a box of crackers in the passenger front seat. Those crackers were laced with poison and he intended to use them as rat bait. He was concerned that the thief would eat them and poison himself.

When we run from God, we think we are escaping His judgment. We think that He pursues us to kill us. What we are doing is running from rescue.

The Lord says that his people commit evil by forsaking the fountain of living waters (Jesus) and pursuing their way of saving themselves. It is like digging wells that can’t hold water. Digging a well is exhausting work. It is also foolish work when a fountain is flowing with water that can be had for free.

There is an old poem called, “The Hound of Heaven” in which the author describes running from God and being pursued by Him. God is pictured as a hound chasing down his prey. The man flees. God persistently chases him. The man believes God is going to do him harm. What he finally discovers is God is pursuing him to do him good.

Don’t run from Jesus. Run to Him.

P.S. One of my favorite lines in “The Hound of Heaven” is this one:

All that I took from thee I did but take,

Not for thy harms,

But just that thou might’st seek it in my arms.