“At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.... “He replied, “You are talking foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.” Job 1:20-22, 2:10

In the good and in the bad, I will praise the LORD.

As sad as Job’s story may be, He never stopped worshipping the Lord. His story begins with wealth, many children, a happy home, and God praising him as the most righteous man alive. Job seemed to have everything, right?!

But Satan, on the other hand, wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to prove that people only loved God because of what God gave them.

So God, not having to PROVE himself, but willing to set Satan right, handed Job over to Satan for him to do as he pleased. Satan could literally do anything to Job except take his life.

Satan, jumping at the chance, began to wreak havoc….

First, it was Job’s finances, the bounty of livestock Job had acquired. Then it was Job’s employees, those working his sheep. Next, it was his vehicles, the camels that carried all the loads. And then his beloved children were next on the list, BUT even in his mourning, Job praised the LORD.

Finally, Satan, feeling like He was getting nowhere with Job, attacked him physically, causing Job to be unapproachable by man and in an abundance of pain. And YET, even in this, Job praised the Lord, declaring that we can’t just accept the GOOD from God but also the BAD.

At one point or another, in our lifetime, we are going to feel the affects of loss; we will all feel the pain that Job felt. And like Job, we all have the choice to respond in praise.

Throughout my adult life, I’ve felt almost all of the losses Job experienced. But the worst of which, I’d have to say, was 6 years ago. I stood at the front of a church with 2000+ family and friends. Instead of this being a joyful occasion like a wedding or a Sunday morning church service, I was standing at the front staring at the still, silent body of my youngest son. I was devastated; I was in the beginning of a LONG mourning period. But even at my little boy’s funeral, I knew my God never left me. I knew more than ever before how much He loved me. And as I stood facing the casket we sang Amazing Grace, 10,000 Reasons, and Oceans, and As I sang I praised The Lord…just like Job.

It’s hard to praise God when we’re hurting, but it’s in the hurting when He’s holding us closer. So in the good and in the bad, I will praise the Lord. How about you?

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“When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, out of the serpents reach.” Revelations 12:13-14

1 year of a childhood can turn many years of a life into a horrible nightmare, but God can use every real-life nightmare for His Good and His Glory.

In Revelations, John witnesses many things yet to come. In this section of the vision he is shown a woman being chased by the devil and the dragon. This woman isn’t just any woman, she is the one that bore the child. She has a testimony, a story, that is needing to be told, and God protects her by giving her wings to fly away from them.

Just like that, many years ago, there was a nightmare in my own life that I know my parents still want to take back if they could. And through this real life trauma I experienced years of nightmares with people chasing after me trying to harm me. But every time, and I mean every single time, Out of no where, I would be led in my dream to open my arms while running to immediately begin flying. These nightmares as they were, didn’t just give me the ability to fly, but they gave me the confidence to know I was taken care of and there was no reason to fear the intentions or harm of others.

As I look back over the hard things in my childhood, I can see how God was wooing me to Him. In these nightmares, also know as dreams, God was revealing to me that He had such a great purpose for me on this earth that I would need to depend solely on His power to fulfill what was yet to come.

Like the woman in Revelations, the devil has constantly been chasing me over the years. He so badly wants me in his clutches to destroy me and the testimony that God has given me. There is nothing that he wants more than to cause me to fall short and fall away so I won’t lead others to Jesus. But thankfully, every time I’m tempted, God gives me wings, not real wings, but the power to fly from the temptation that is all around.

God will provide for you too! He will provide a way out from every temptation that you face. We need to lean into Him and His power to spread our wings and fly, holding fast to the testimony He’s given each one of us. We need to run until we’re Ready to Fly.

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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. For the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

I’m running to God, and I’m running for Life.

All my life I’ve been a runner, either through the strawberry fields for fun or around them for the trouble I was in. I’ve run in races and on track teams. I’ve run 5K’s (3.1 miles) and Marathons (26.2 miles). I run to clear my head and to hear from God.

But I also, sometimes, try to run from my problems. I try to take off from what’s causing me issues and forge a different path. This I’ve done since my childhood as well. Even my siblings will tell you how many times I packed my bags and tried to run away when my feelings were hurt or I didn’t feel like I was being heard. But all of this running wasn’t actually a running away, it was a running to what my heart was desiring.

It was running to God; and once I realized it, I changed my actions and my attitude.

I still fight the desire to “run away” every so often. Now when I get that feeling I go to God and ask Him to open my eyes to what I really need to see and the path He has for me. I throw off everything holding me down and I just run.

At the end of all this running, I’ve got a promise that you have too, there waiting for me and you is the arms of the Savior where there is a place I can never be hurt and a love that knows no bounds. Until that day comes I’ll just keep running. Running to God for Life….and every once and awhile He lets me fly…..that’s another story for another day.