You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide

Bottom Line Upfront: Most Americans think they can hide from God. Our State of Christianity in America research says 67% believe Jesus died on a cross for their sins, and then choose not to follow Him. They’ve made peace with a Savior they don’t actually serve. That’s not belief. That’s hiding in plain sight. So let me ask you something before we go one more sentence:

What did it take for you to figure out you can’t avoid a commitment to God… and you can’t avoid death? Simply email me at Arnie.cole@backtothebible.org and help us figure out what it takes to help others.

Ben Franklin had it almost right when he wrote that nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes. He was wrong by one word. Nothing is certain except death and some level of commitment to God.

It took me 47 years to figure that out. Forty-seven years of running. Forty-seven years of being “new age” type of spiritual without being surrendered to Christ. Forty-seven years of ignoring Him every day of the week. And then came the wave.

I was on my boat named Kindred Spirit (as a new ager, we free spirits and nature are all in this together), heading toward Alaska. In some regards, I had prepared all my life for this momentous voyage. As the seas started to build, it was super exhilarating. That is, until a 75-foot wall of black water rose up and started cresting over the top of my boat.

Looking up at the cresting wave, nothing I could do, nothing I could say, nothing I could think of could find me a way out. Every illusion I had about being in control was gone in one terrifying instant. And in that moment, I realized there were exactly two things I’d spent my entire adult life trying to outrun:

Death and my relationship with God. I couldn’t hide from either one. Not anymore.

Heavyweight boxer Joe Louis had a memorable line before his 1946 fight with Billy Conn. Conn was fast and elusive. So reporters asked Louis how he’d handle a man who could dance away from every punch. Louis just said: “He can run, but he can’t hide.”

That’s us. That’s every one of us before grace catches up.

We run from God like Adam and Eve ran into the trees. They’d just broken the one rule He’d given. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves and hid in the shrubbery. “But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:9).

King David in Psalm 139 describes the futility of trying to hide from God: “Where can I go from your Spirit?... even the darkness will not be dark to you” (Psalm 139:7,12)

You can’t hide. You never could.

And yet, here’s what our SALT Index keeps surfacing and it haunts me:

• 67% believe Jesus died for their sins, but won’t follow Him

• They believe about Jesus, not in Jesus

• They’re not atheists, they’re hiders

They hide behind busyness, behind disappointment with God, behind that one prayer that didn’t get answered the way they wanted. And they walk away angry. Maybe that sounds familiar to you.

But don’t miss the next part. God isn’t looking for you to punish you. He’s calling your name to bring you home.

The Gospel isn’t a condemnation of our sins, it’s an invitation. God is whispering over your life right now calling you home whether you’ve been running for 5 years or 47.

And this overwhelming love of God isn’t earned, it can only be received. That’s the heart of the Gospel. You don’t clean yourself up to come to God, you come to God and then He cleans you up. So, you can’t hide, but you also don’t have to.

So back to my question:

What did it take for you to figure out you can’t avoid a commitment to God… and you can’t avoid death? 

If the answer is “I’m still figuring it out,” good. That’s where the conversation starts. Not in shame. Not hiding behind the trees. Step out. Get found.  God’s  been calling your name the whole time. And we’re here for you.

All in, eyes up!

P.S. This week on the Spiritually Fit Today podcast Gary Dunker and I discuss embracing your calling during the retirement years. Don’t miss it.