Escape

You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.
-- John Green

And what happens when that future never comes? There exists a fine line between escape and endurance.

God never promised me escape. He never promised anyone escape. He promised endurance. The strength to walk through the trials of life. The security of knowing He's there, unhindered.

Escape seems so alluring at the time. I don't believe that bad things happen so we can know good. There was another great quote - The existence of broccoli doesn't change the taste of chocolate. I believe bad things happen, God can make some good anyway. Escape is all about my control.

Endurance, going through the bad, coming out the other side unwavering, is all about God's control. Faith isn't escaping the present. Faith is accepting the present knowing the future is on its way. Think of it like mopping a floor. You don't start at the door and work in. You'll be stuck in the corner until the floor dries.

Likewise, endurance is all about not painting yourself into that corner. Escape never picks up the mop. Endurance mops the floor. Wisdom starts in the corner and works toward the door. We can't escape our present, a broken miserable world. We can endure it.