"And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead:
And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber;
Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not."
2 Kings 9:1-3
This is an interesting story. We don't usually hail the virtues of running away, although it does happen several times in scripture. I like this because it shows both the importance of doing God's will, but also shows that running away from a situation is sometimes the right thing to do.
God warns people about things, and sometimes that warning is to run away. For instance, he told Joseph to get Mary and the child Jesus out of town (Matthew 2:13) and he told Lehi to get out of Jerusalem with his family (1 Nephi 2:2). Although it is also inspiring to read about people who stood up for their beliefs and were saved from fire and burning, like Daniel or Shadrach, sometimes they stand up and they aren't saved, like Abinadi, so when God warns us to run, we should do so.
Today, let's think about "standing up" for our beliefs a little bit differently. The overall idea is to do God's will, and while we of course should never compromise our testimonies, that doesn't always mean that we have to stand up and fight either. Doing God's will rarely conforms to our expectations. Nephi wanted to burst his bonds, and instead the Lord just loosened the ropes. God *can* help us fight our battles, but he also can make sure we're safe by encouraging us to run away. Whatever we do, let's do it unto the Lord, and he will direct our paths... whether that is towards, or away from, our enemies. :)
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