FLEE

Flee

What do you envision when you hear the word flee? I first think about someone running away from someone else. The setting is usually a dark alley with a lot of shadows. The person running is constantly looking over their shoulder, sure that they are being followed. Running in a direction, they hope will lead to safety. Did I come close to what you envision?

I think of the story in the Old Testament of Joseph and his master's wife. The story goes that Joseph would not sleep with her. One day, she tried to seduce him and he fled from her. He literally ran away from her. He didn't try to reason with her, or talk her out of it. He knew danger was near and so he ran from it.

Isn't this a lesson for us? I whole heartedly believe that we have gotten too comfortable with our world. I don't even think that we recognize when something is dangerous anymore. I have heard more than once that the music listened to is not so bad, only one little bad part. Or the movie that we are watching only says the "s" word. Shoot, I have made these comments myself! No big deal. It isn't affecting us. I recently was told the story of someone baking a pan of brownies for their Sunday school students. Right before the brownies were ate; he stopped to tell them a little bit about how they were made. He informed them that he had picked out the best kind at the store. After putting all the ingredients in, he realized that he was a little short on one thing. He looked in his cabinets and found nothing to substitute for the missing ingredient. So he took a spoon outside and scooped up a little dog poop. It was just a little, no big deal. He finished mixing everything together, baked them and passed them out. You can imagine the kids' shocked faces when he told them this. Not one of them ate the dessert this time; just a little bit of something bad, ruined the whole batch.

You get my point? Why don't we treat the things we have become accustomed to like this pan of brownies. Instead of viewing it like it is no big deal, we need to view it like God sees it.

2 Timothy 2:22 "Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

We are to flee our evil desires. We are to run away. Far and fast! We are not to look back over our shoulder. We are to just run!

It's so hard though isn't it? "The evil desires of youth" says to me that I have had these desires a long time. And what do they say: "old habits are hard to break?"

I have for a long time, thought that if I was to flee; satan would be breathing down my back while chasing me. You can just picture it now can't you? He is the big bad wolf who is constantly stalking his prey. But I found another great verse tucked away in

James 4:7 "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

It's funny to see this word appear in both of these verses. One is a command of what we should do, and one is a promise of what will happen if we persevere against the devil and resist him. This is so reassuring to me.

It not only reassures me but also changes my view of satan. I think for a very long time, he has wanted me to believe that he had the upper hand. That I was scared and running and I needed to constantly be watching my back because he was just behind the next corner. I realize now that when I am in this mindset, I am not trusting in the power of the name of Jesus. I am telling myself that satan has power over me. The reality of the situation is that all I have to do is resist him. Resisting may include fleeing from him. Not because of how scary he is; but because we don't want to be close to anything of evil…we will eventually get too comfortable with it. Then we will eventually not even realize that it is harming us.

 

The most eye opening thing about this whole little lesson I have learned is that satan will flee from me. It's a promise that I intend to cling to! I am liking this turn of events. Instead of feeling that I will have to run forever and never stop because he is constantly running after me, all I have to do is stop and speak the name of Jesus, and resist him…and then he is the one who has to flee. It's awesome isn't it?

 

The word flee use to bring a sense of dread. It was always associated with something hidden, scary, and unexpected. The unknown is always a bit nerve wracking. But my view is changing drastically. I actually feel a bit empowered right now. I have decided to not believe the lies that I have lived under from the enemy. He does not have power over me. In fact, I think I am just now realizing the power that Christ has given us over satan! I know that this change in attitude is not always going to be easy to keep, but I know that this is the way God wants us to live! We might as well start somewhere, and it might as well start now! Let's start resisting him…how cool will it be to see him fleeing instead of us J!