Psalm 139:7

New International Version (NIV) 

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

For meditation

1. How long have you been running from the Lord?
2. What did you hear from Him that caused you to run? From what responsibility have you been hiding?
3. The story of Jonah in the belly of the fish is interesting, isn’t it?
4. But, did it have to come to that for the runaway prophet?
5. Did Jonah think he hated the sin and wickedness of the Ninevites more than our Holy God?
6. Why, then, was he running away from his commission “to go preach against it” (1:2)?
7. Did He have to endure the belly of the fish to know and confess that God is a forgiving God (Jonah 2:6-7)?
8. Isn’t it sad that while God’s heart bleeds for the sinner to repent and be reconciled to Him, the human heart yearns to see revenge and disaster upon our enemies (2 Pt. 3:9)?
9. But did Jonah really think he could run away from God (3-17)?
10. As the Psalmist says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (Ps. 139:7-10).
11. Your story may not be set in the same circumstances as Jonah’s; but is it not the same when you consider your flight from God?
12. Is it not the same dislike for what God wants of us that puts us on flights to destinations, far from Him? Or, do you even know that every act of disobedience is a journey away from God?
13. The real question is: How far do you think you can go before His Spirit confronts you, maybe, in an uncomfortable way?

I pray you will realize that you cannot run away from the Spirit of God; for He is everywhere present (Ps. 139:7-12). As we love quoting Hebrews 13:5-6 when in trouble, we should also remember that the same presence of God is with us when we run from Him.

So: May you turn back to God in repentance and total submission to His will, unpleasant as it may be; and may your healing and restoration begin, just as Jesus brought healing and restoration to Peter on the shores of the lake (Jn. 21:15-19).

You can run; but you can’t hide! So, stop running!

Shalom