Want to Escape?

There are days that running away seems like the only logical answer. My mind races, desperate for relief from the chaos. Where can I go? How? The dog rolled in something I won't write about here (needing immediate washing), one child is having an emotional crisis over a failed project, the doorbell is ringing, the phone is buzzing, dinner boiling over, and a neighborhood kid waits at the door selling $50 brownies for marching band. These are only the straws. You  know, the ones that break the camel's back? Deeper trouble lies underneath- the child who is defiant, the finances (or lack of), sickness needing healing, aging parents needing help, a job with crazy demands...

Sometimes we just want to stop the ride and get off before we get sick. Our desire is for escape and relief. For me, running away to another country is not an option. Handsome Pastor would hunt me down, put together a search party to find the mother of his six children! The tribe would be hungry, wearing dirty clothes, and frantically searching for the lost items that only I can locate in our home. I would hear for months about what Dad packed in those lunchboxes. (once he packed granola bars instead of a sweet item and a salty item because the wrapper said "sweet and salty" ) Reality is that if I ran away, I would eventually have to return, and putting life back together after my escape would be epic.

God speaks of a way of escape. A way out. When we are tempted to quit, to give up, he provides a way out so that we can stand under it all. He offers to be our refuge, our strong tower, the rock that is higher. We don't have to run far to find relief. He understands the pressure and the pain hanging over us, the ones we wear like a heavy coat, the ones shackled to us. He keeps asking us, inviting us to come to him.

I would love to hear the verses you cling to, the ones that remind you to find relief in Jesus. Please leave them in the comment box below.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea...
Be still and know that I am God...Psalm 46:1-3,10