Rev. Ron Sumners
November 14, 1993
What is it that brings the Psalmist to say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away and be at rest ." We've all had that feeling. Perhaps you feel it right now; the desire to escape, the longing to be extracted from some painful difficulty or relationship, the urgency to somehow be lifted out of a problem that seems insolvable. But when life flashes a "NO EXIT" sign, what can we do? We long to get away; yet God calls us back.
The psalmist knew the feeling of having no escape, but so have many of the great people down through the ages. Nathaniel Hawthorne said in the midst of the Civil War, "Lord, it is too present with me, too persistent, too painful. I want out of this." Elizabeth Akers Allen wrote:
Backward, turn backward, 0 tide of the years .
I am weary of toil and of tears.
Toil without recompense, tears all in vain,
Take them and give me my childhood again.
Even the Apostle Paul wanted to get out. When he was imprisoned in Rome, he expressed his desire to "depart and be with Christ" (Phil. 1:23). He didn't receive his request . That was during his first imprisonment in Rome, to be followed by several years of ministry and then a second imprisonment in Rome. Even the Master, Christ our Lord, prayed, "Father, if it be your will, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42)
What is it that causes this feeling of wanting to escape? Some of us have simply become fatigued from the pressures of life, and we truly need to get away and rest. Jesus said to His disciples, ". . . Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a while . . ." (Mark 6:31). Life has its interludes of rest, its ebb and flow in which the Lord equips us for the battle. But longing for rest all the time may keep us from the battle for which we were born!
Some others of us say, "I'm hurt! Nobody understands me. I want to get away from it all!" Still others believe that, by leaving, they can make a statement to awaken others to the same circumstances that they have been enduring. Others admit defeatedly, "I just don't have what it takes. God, get me out of this!"
One of the amazing discoveries we make when we read the fifty-fifth Psalm is how honest the psalmist was.
“Give ear to my prayer, 0 God; and hide not Thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and hear me; mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. My heart is sore pained within me; and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me."
Those words may sound like an exaggerated description of the difficulties of life. We may not feel that strongly, but we do empathize with what follows: "And I said, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness (Psalm 55:6- 7).
Jeremiah expressed the same longing, "Oh, that I had, in the wilderness, a lodging place for wayfaring men; that I might leave my people . . ." (Jeremiah 9:2). What do you do when you feel like that?
There are times when we have caused the reason for our wanting to escape. Other times it is caused by difficult people . I know husbands and wives who blame each other for their problems and long for a way out of the marriage. I talk to people who are in jobs that they no longer find rewarding and are looking for fulfillment in some other position or company.
There are those who wish they could prune down their list of friends and drop some who are a constant burden. And what about the people we trusted who let us down when we needed them the most? Do you know someone that you would like to get away from? We all want to get away from people and life's demands at times. We want and need a rest!
Be sure you know what you mean by rest! What is rest? In the context of the Scriptures, rest is not physical, but rather a condition of the soul. Rest is a relationship with the Lord; His peace indwelling us. If you can't have that quality of peace in the midst of the battle, you won't have it at all!
Of course, there are necessary times of vacation rest. Visiting the mountains is refreshing. They are wonderful to ski upon and hike over. I enjoy a drive in the mountains to renew my strength. Many people like desert places to warm their bodies as well as their souls. Beautiful country places can give us hope and encouragement. Yet, we're not born for these. We were born for the battle! We were born to be Christian Soldiers, daily marching in a war against the power of Satan!
On a flight some years ago, I was seated next to a woman who seemed very troubled. During the meal we struck up a conversation. When she learned that I was a minister she began to pour out her woes. (People always do one of two things when the find out you’re a minister. They turn the other way and pretend to go to sleep or they dump a life-time load of trouble on you.) This lady did not pretend to go to sleep. Her husband, children, and friends had not lived up to her high expectations . She was even less satisfied with herself. She told me that she was on her way to an "escape vacation" paid for by her husband . (I could picture the husband back home enjoying the peace and tranquility. He had made a good investment.) I told her that sometimes it was good to get away and be alone. "But I'm not going to be alone", she said, "I've got my worst enemy with me. . . ME!"
A man explained about his marriage, "I got tired of living with my first wife. There was more trouble than I could imagine in a marriage, so I divorced and married another woman. Well, she was as bad as the first one." I suspect he will have the same difficulty with the third unless he stops running from the problem person who lives inside his own skin!
Often people stay with a congregation as long as it satisfies them and doesn't disturb them too much. They are looking for a church that will make them happy. Their commitment to Christ does not grow into faithfulness to His body, the church.
The same exists for many people in their work. "What can you do for me?" seems to be the only motive anymore for taking a job . Pride and a sense of accomplishment seem to have taken second place.
Whatever happened to the rawboned spirit of commitment that believes that God is Lord and we've been called, not to be comforted, but to minister; the kind of spirit that causes us to get to work ourselves instead of expecting everyone else to work for us?
Whatever happened to loyalty? Things get a little tough and we say, "Lord, get me out of this." Maybe we need to realize that it is for this that we were created!
I could fill the entire sermon time with examples of people suffering from the spiritual virus of escapism. But eventually we discover that there is another beside ourselves that we can never escape; the Lord!
Once the Psalmist confessed the fact that he wanted to fly away, be at rest, and he poured out all his anger and frustration, he found that his deepest need was for the Lord . After his venom was emptied, his mood suddenly changed. He said to himself, and to us, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved ." When our trust is ultimately in Him, and we dare to live out His will in the crises of life, He will give us what we need.
There is a great difference between "the wings of a dove to fly away" and "the wings of an eagle" that give the power to soar until we get perspective. The eagle can fly with might strength, but it does not fly away!
Isaiah 40:13 says, "Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
The point is clear. The Lord wants to give us the raw courage to face life as it is and receive the power to change it, beginning with ourselves. Don't beg for God to get you out of this. Rise up on eagle's wings and see things from God's perspective. This is the battle for which you were born!!
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