King Saul spent a large portion of his life chasing after something that God never deemed okay. I think there are so many people that spend a large portion of their life chasing after something that they were never meant too. I think it’s a distraction to keep them from where God wants them. The devil uses all kinds of distractions to get us off track. And I think we have this mentality in the “church” that we have to chase after God, as a retired runner I can tell you that eventually this becomes exhausting physically and mentally. In fact, we run to things and from things that God never deemed okay. We are not created to keep up a running pace as a lifestyle. I believe we are created to walk beside God throughout life without running. God will never leave you so it’s not like you are going to have to chase Him down the street. He is faithful and loyal, He doesn’t abandon us.
This afternoon I am going to teach bible at a rehab facility for girls. I have taught boys and girls at alternative schools, detention facilities, and rehab facilities. These are kids that have been chasing the wrong thing throughout their life. Chasing counterfeit stuff that promise redemption and identity. This afternoon I am going to see faces that have lost hope, faces that have been running for a long time, faces that are desperate for peace. It is not a place for the faint of heart because God does some serious work there; I call it trench work. I am not very good at staying in religious circles but I am very good at trench work and often I find myself in the trenches with people. I don’t mind it because Jesus was a trench worker: always touching the sick, teaching the defiant, and finding the lost. Jesus did not hang out with the religious people of the time on the contrary He hung out with the misfits of the time, uneducated, not allowed in religious circles, real messy people.
This afternoon I am going to go pour into a group of girls that have no idea of their worth because they have been chasing the wrong thing for so long they have forgotten what the right thing is. As their coaches and therapists try to reteach them what the right thing is; I will try to break down religious walls that have been put up and extend life lines to them through redemption as we will talk about God and life.
Now traditionally we hear the word redemption and we think “saved” and rightly so but redemption does not stop at salvation. Redemption also means improvement, renovation, recovery, and restoration. That means God does not leave us in the state He found us in, He immediately gets to work on restoring us to who He calls us to be. Redemption does not lead us into a chase on the contrary it leads us to be still as we undergo spiritual and emotional renovations until we are ready for the journey to walk with the Lord. Redemption is not just for the “church.” No, redemption is for all people. Redemption is what brings hope to any and every situation or circumstances. Nobody is too far gone on their chase for redemption. Through redemption we get courage to change, optimism to hope, and expectation that God will show up and help clean up our messy lives. (King Saul could have had this had he bothered to invite God into the mess he made with his life.)
King Saul wasted so much time on a chase that wasn’t leading him to God, I don’t want to waste time on a pursuit that leads me to nowhere, life is too short. I don’t know what you have been pursuing in your life, if you are like King Saul chasing after the wrong thing or the kids I encounter running after counterfeit hope…Today I hope you find some solace in knowing you are called to walk with the Lord; You don’t have to chase after Him. I don’t know about you but these days I prefer to walk over run. You don’t have to run after the Lord, you don’t have to chase Him, slow down, get your breath, and speak out to Him, what you’ll find is that He has been beside you, He never left you. I don’t want to waste a moment of my life chasing the wrong thing, in fact I don’t want to “chase” after things, ya know. I do want to walk with the Lord on a daily basis and through that walk He will direct me where I need to go.
I challenge you to offer redemption to someone today. Remind them that hope is still alive and that they don’t have to stay on the coarse chasing after counterfeit salvation. Remind them that they don’t have to chase after God, He walks beside them all they have to do is call out to Him…Good Morning Ladies!
Ps. The word walk appears in the bible 222 times. Food for thought.