SALVATION ARMY

Have you ever had one of those days when you simply want to run away and hide? It sounds so simple and straightforward, a way of escaping from all the pressures and problems of everyday life.

Unfortunately, it rarely is that simple.

Take Jonah for example, he wasn’t so much running away from his problems, but from his perceived problems – things that he imagined would happen if he continued on his current path.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t afraid of failure, but of success.

Jonah was so convinced he would succeed, that people would take his message to heart, that he ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

And that was when his problems really started. He was bounced around on rough seas, thrown overboard, swallowed by a fish, and spent the next three days all at sea – I’m guessing that by the end his original problems, his self-perceived or potential problems, didn’t look quite as bad as the situation he now found himself in.

The same is often true for the situations in which we find ourselves; that which we imagine might happen, the thing we fear most, often doesn’t turn out to be quite so bad in the end, and often not as bad as the alternative.

Next time you feel like running away, run to God instead.“seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”proverbs 3:6 Alex Mcnee, Major Corps Officer, The Salvation Army Hamilton Community Church