INSTEAD OF RUNNING AWAY FROM GOD, RUN TO HIM.
can, ate half of a styrofoam cup, and made a mess of the entire barn. While he might’ve thought it was fun for a while, he could’ve hurt himself, despite us being careful in everything we do to try to take good care of him. I feel like God looks at us the same way we looked at Rigger that day. God gives us the tools we need to protect ourselves, but sometimes we run. We’ve all been through rough patches when we want to get as far away as we can from our worries, but our time would be better spent refocusing on the goodness of God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 teaches us, “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.”
I’ve been through two rough patches in my life. When I was a young adult and my dad lost his fight with cancer, I ran. I believed in God, but didn’t have any kind of personal relationship with Jesus. I was spiritually immature and didn’t really understand the power of Jesus’ love for me. I really don’t know where I was running to, but I was around people that weren’t good for me and did things that weren’t good for me. When the second rough patch hit, I did have a relationship with Jesus and was surrounded by good, Christian friends. One of these friends told me to visualize Jesus putting His arms around me when I was sad. Instead of running from God, I ran to Him. That rough patch wasn’t so rough after all. I grew as a person and formed a closer relationship with Jesus. Being a Christian does not mean that you won’t have hard times. It means that when you do have hard times, there is always a silver lining. You find the lessons because your mindset is different. You know that your problems are only temporary, so there isn’t any reason to run away. The best place to find comfort, protection, and peace is in the arms of Jesus. ■
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got home from work one day to find Libbi’s steer, Rigger, had licked his chain and escaped from his
pen into the barn. He knocked over the wheelbarrow, tipped over a trash
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