Run to Jesus

My friend Betty gave me great advice one day when I felt far away from God. She said, “When you have strong feelings pulling you away from your trust in God, run to Him in prayer, read His Word, and find fellowship with other believers.” Betty spoke these words at a time when I was struggling with discouragement and depression. It felt like God had abandoned me. But Betty reminded me that God has promised He will never leave us nor forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5). He is always right by our side, no matter where we are, no matter how we are feeling. But still, waves of despair threatened to overwhelm me. My emotions were pulling me further away from God’s presence. That is when Betty’s straight talk helped me to remember Bible truth and allowed me to choose faith over my feelings. Because we believe in God, the enemy will try to lead us astray and make us feel far away from God by whatever means he can find.

Getting us to trust how we feel over what we clearly know to be biblically true is one of his sneakiest attacks. He tries to convince us that we are too far gone to turn back to God. But that is a lie. The Bible reminds us that God is always waiting to welcome us back home with open arms. In fact, He runs to us and meets us on the way, just like the father of the prodigal son. When we feel the woes of this world are too overwhelming, we can open our Bible and claim Jesus’ promise to us: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV). When we feel like we are buried in our sins, far beyond God’s reach, His Word says that God’s mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness (see Lamentations 3:22, 23)! When it feels as though our sins are too numerous for God to forgive, the Bible tells us that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12, NKJV). If you are in the depths of despair, just remember the Savior will never let you go.

Run to Jesus! He is your refuge and strength.

Trust yourself to His love.

Alexis A. Goring