Have you ever been stopped in your tracks by a sound? More specifically, by a song?

My husband and I were recently driving across Texas for a meeting and stopped at a vintage/antique/picker shop to stretch our legs and look around. I noticed immediately that the owners were playing a Christian radio station (which made me smile). But within minutes, the song changed and I was captured by the lyrics.

Perfect

Assuming it was from a new album, I looked it up and was surprised it was a song released in 2022. But right there, in that moment, new to me, it was perfect.

The song, I Can’t Get Away by Melissa Helser, was most likely inspired by Psalm 139.

Oh where, where can I run? Where can I hide? That You’re not there–
And You, You know my heart, all of my thoughts, You understand–
I can’t outrun Your love…
You love me when I’m up, You love me when I’m down–
Your love it surrounds me, I can’t get away…

David penned the same thoughts in his psalm. The same thoughts we have all had at some point in our life. “Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me” (Psalm 139:7-10).

I wasn’t in a lonely or bad place when I heard this song in that random shop. But nonetheless, the lyrics arrested my heart.

And that’s the point I want to make today– The Lord is ever present. We can’t outrun Him or His love. Every time we turn around, He’s there (still there).

He’s never left you

Maybe you needed to hear that today: The Lord loves you in the middle of your mess. Nothing catches Him off-guard. Nothing surprises Him.

Sometimes it’s in the middle of a good season that we’re reminded the most of His faithful love. When life is a chaotic mess, we can miss His faithfulness because of the distractions of emotions (fear, worry, confusion, etc). But on the other side… that’s when we see.

He never left you.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he said something profound: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

The Bible says the Lord will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and He never changes (Malachi 3:6). This is our Lord and Savior; our Father God. He cannot be anything else than Who He is; He cannot deny Himself. He is faithful.

You can run to the highest mountain. He’s there.
You can run to the lowest valley. He’s there.

Everywhere we run, He’s still there. We simply can’t outrun Him. But why would we want to? When your heart has been captured by His love, there’s nothing that compares or completes us.

Time and time again

I think I was stopped in my tracks when I heard this song because after thirty-plus years of being a Christian, it’s as true today as the first day. The only difference is I believe and understand it more now than I did in the beginning– which makes me love Him more.

I’ve experienced His faithful love. I’ve been rescued time and time again. And He’s the same, yesterday, today, and (obviously) forever.

I pray you know this. I pray you believe this. I pray that no matter your experience, you’ll let Him show you the depths of His love for you. You just can’t outrun it.