Readings for today: Jeremiah 42-43, Hebrews 2
Deion Sanders is one of the most amazing athletes of all time. He is the only person to participate in both a World Series and a Super Bowl, winning two of the latter. He was a nine-time All-Pro cornerback and kick returner who moonlighted as a professional baseball player. Everything the man touched seemingly turned to gold and he had the ego to match. He gave himself the nickname “Prime Time.” He was loud and brash and cocky to a fault. And yet, all that success could not satisfy so in 1997 - at the height of his success - he drove his car off a cliff in an effort to commit suicide. Incredibly enough, he survived the 30-40 foot drop with no significant injuries and it was then that he began to turn his life over to the Lord. I once heard him remark in an interview, “I was one of the fastest human beings on the face of the planet but I could not outrun God.”
I imagine all of us know what it’s like to run from God. All of us at one time or another in our lives have tried to run as fast and as far as we can from Him. Perhaps we were running from faith like Sanders. Perhaps we were running from obedience like the rich young ruler Jesus met one day. Perhaps we were running from hardship and suffering like the disciples in the wake of the crucifixion. Perhaps we were running from His call on our lives like the Old Testament prophet, Jonah. Whatever the circumstances, I imagine all of us can think of a time where we ran from the Lord. Here’s my question…how’d that work out for you? ;-) I know how it worked out for me. God was relentless. He pursued me tirelessly. He ran me down. I never did have much of a chance.
Neither did Israel or Jeremiah. You can understand their thinking. You can sympathize with their point of view. Their whole world has just been destroyed by Babylon. They’ve witnessed firsthand the horrors of war. The futility of trying to resist. And now the very governor Nebuchadnezzar appointed to rule in his stead has been murdered. Surely his vengeance will be swift and total and final. Surely he will return and wipe out everyone who’s left. So they make a plan. They will flee to Egypt. Take refuge in a rival empire. Surely the arm of Nebuchadnezzar cannot reach them there. But before they go, they seek the Lord. They want the Lord to confirm their well-laid plans. God tells them something different. He calls them to surrender. He calls them to humble submission. He calls on them to plead for mercy. If they will trust the Lord with their lives - even in the face of their fear and anxiety and hardship and suffering - He promises He will deliver them. Listen again to what the Lord says to His people, “If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.” (Jeremiah 42:9-17)
God is giving His people a clear choice. One with real life consequences. Obey the Lord even in the face of their fear and anxiety, suffering and hardship and they will be blessed. God will protect them. God will re-plant them. God will build them up in the land. Disobey the Lord. Run to Egypt. And surely God’s judgment will find them. The violence they are trying to escape will follow them. The famine they are trying to avoid will be waiting for them there. All who go to Egypt will die there. None shall escape. It’s a choice between life or death and Jeremiah implores them to choose life. Sadly, they choose death and bring on themselves further judgment. All because they tried to outrun God.
Where do you find yourself today? Are you still running from God? Are you still seeking to flee His presence? Live life your own way? Follow your own heart? Satisfy your own desires? Or perhaps you find yourself exhausted? Worn out by the rat race? Tired of chasing the brass ring? Maybe like Sanders, you’ve caught the ring. You’ve achieved success. You’ve made your way to the top only to find it lonely. Isolating. Deeply unfulfilling. Friends, God is going to relentlessly pursue you until the day you die. He will never stop fighting for you. Never stop reaching out to you. Never stop coming after you because He longs for all to be saved and come to knowledge of His truth. He longs for all to know the love and grace He offers in Jesus Christ. Will you stop running and turn to Him today?
Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 44-45, Hebrews 3:1-4:13