A little background about me so you will know who I may be talking about from time to time. I have been a UMC pastor for 19 years now, married to my beautiful wife Jennifer for 15 years, and have two great children; my son Carsten who is nine, and my daughter Ava who is three.  Well, today, Ava went to the doctor to get checked out, we thought she may be sick since she hasn’t been sleeping well. The doctor wanted to swab her throat for Strep and asked Jennifer and her to go to the lab. As Jennifer holds Ava on her lap for the test, she was surprised that Ava wasn’t upset or scared like normal.  As the nurse approached with the swab stick, right as she got to Ava’s mouth, she bolted. Ava ran out of the lab, down the hallway, trying her best to “escape.” When I heard this, I actually laughed out loud (that doesn’t happen often). Ava definitely has a large personality, and “knows what she wants and doesn’t want.”

That being said, today, she was really running from a test that could have helped diagnose her, heal her or make her whole. The test was uncomfortable, so she ran. There are things in our lives that make us uncomfortable. Things we would prefer not to face, go through or endure. It just might be that God is working through these things to help you, heal you, or make you whole in Him. From what are you trying to “escape?”  Where can you really run?  The Psalmist tells us that no matter where we go, God is there. Ready to embrace us, ready to encourage us and always continually loving us. Life is not easy, a lot of times it can be scary but just as Jennifer chased after and finally caught Ava; Jesus will not let you go.  He will continually chase after you, as much as you might want, there is “no escape.” And that is the really, really, good news for all of us today.

Tim Beck is pastor of Kenbridge United Methodist Church.  His email address is revtimbeck@gmail.com