I tried - to run away [Chapter 15]

Chapter 15 - I Want to Run Away

So.  Here's the deal, I am a very blunt person.  And this chapter, well, it was 'eh.    I felt like I was re-reading chapter 14.    Chapter 14 was talking about the in-between stage of rejection and redemption while chapter 15 is talking about why we shouldn't run away.  So do people run-away before, during, or after the in-between?  Maybe I just felt like this chapter was out of place.

I also have a hard time using emotions to justify choices.  Facts, information, data, and numbers are how I tend to make my observations and decisions.  So, when faced with rejection I don't run away, I take confrontation and want to see it be turned into a transformation.    Does that sound cocky?  I mean this in the best way that I can,  my emotions don't tend to get in my way.  

I am not perfect.

Chapter 15 does talk about how countless people in the Bible run away and how Jesus never does. Instead of running away we are to, like 14, turn to God.  He is the only one that can fix the situation, or how we perceive the situation.  

Maybe, instead of running away we should run towards Him?!   Our identity is supposed to be in Christ.  So when we allow a situation to define us, and lose our identity, we are  running in the wrong direction.   

Everyone in this world is fighting a battle - some might appear to be bigger than others.  These battles were never meant to label us, they were meant to teach us, help us learn.   

Olive Tree Truths:
1) To be a successful person we have to have both difficult times and times of peace.  Like the olive tree, that needs dry hot winds from the east and rainy life bearing winds from the west.     We can not grow and change without both the challenging and calm winds. 

2) Olives are gross if ate straight from the branch.  It takes times, is a process, like a science to transform them into something edible.  And as we go through the process of rejection to healing, it will take time.  It is the only way for us to overcome bitterness and no longer have a pit. 

3) Olive oil is made from being pressed - not crushed.   God will never crush us, but He will press us to be stronger, He will press us to extract what needs to leave.

I tried to run away - but it only brought more hurt and confusion.  Don't run away, rise above.


Listen to:  Who Am I by Casting Crowns