Run Away

Run Away

 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. John 6:15

Jesus was the bravest, mightiest man who ever lived, and yet he knew when to run away from trouble. Do you?

After witnessing the feeding, the crowd realized that Jesus was the solution to all of their problems. A guy who could miraculously feed a multitude once could obviously do it again, along with other things like chasing out those pesky Romans and restoring Israel to her national glory.

So the crowd turned into a mob and sought to take Jesus by force and make him King. And Jesus ran. In the language of the Scripture, he withdrew from them. Translated: he put a mountain between himself and that mob.

Why did Jesus do that? Why did he flee the crowd when they wanted to make him King? Simple–it wasn’t his Father’s will. Jesus knew that the crowd wanted a miracle-working, hunger-ending and Rome-defeating Messiah. And those things simply weren’t on the agenda for Jesus (at least not immediately).

Jesus knew that God had other plans, so he ran. He got as far away from that crowd as possible and spent the night praying and shoring up his will and resolve for his Father’s plan. And we’re all very grateful that he did. For had Jesus let the crowd make him King, he mostly likely would have never made it to the cross.

Do you know when to run? Are you discerning enough to know the difference between temptations and opportunities? Are you committed enough to God’s will in your life–no matter how difficult it may appear to be–to not be led astray by earthly, temporal temptations?

Just because someone has an idea for your life doesn’t mean it’s a good idea or a God idea. Have the sense to run away. Get alone on a mountain and reset your focus on God. Don’t ever let the will and demands of the crowd preempt your obedience before God. Stay the course. Don’t flirt with temptation. Run away.