Believe it or not, there is a time to boldly move forward, but there is also a time to hide. Usually we think of hiding as a bad, or cowardly thing to do, but King Solomon once said, "A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; The simple pass on and are punished." (Pro 27:12) Sometimes we should know in advance that certain situations will be harmful, and should avoid them.
Do you unnecessarily put yourself in situations that could have negative consequences on you, or your testimony for the Lord? Jesus Himself avoided certain places and people during His earthly ministry when He felt that the outcome was not going to be good. God promises to protect us as His children, but as Jesus said, 'YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD.' (Luk 4:12) In other words, you don't just go jumping into things expecting God to save the day on your behalf.
We are responsible to hide from, or avoid, those circumstances that we have reason to believe will likely set us back in some way, unless the Spirit of God directs us to go there. There is a difference between living carelessly or recklessly, and walking down that road to Jerusalem because we know that God has a purpose in it, and that He has called us to run the risk and be willing to suffer on His behalf.
So next time you're thinking of being with people, or in a place where you don't think the outcome is likely to be good, ask yourself if God is directing you to go there on His behalf, or whether it's a good time to practice avoidance in the name of Jesus.
Yours in Him,
Pastor B.
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