Drifting in the faith
A post on a message board I frequent has me thinking on faith, specifically on drifting away from it. This person says that they are drifting towards agnosticism and today it struck me that this is a very interesting way of looking at it. I doubt this person would say they have run from God, rather I get the feeling from reading their posts that they simply stopped running to God.
This got me thinking about my faith and the times when I feel most distant from Him. I'm fairly certain that most (if not all) of those seasons have come not from me consciously saying "I'm going to ignore Him and turn my back on Him," instead they often come simply from me saying "I've worked hard enough, I'm OK where I am at, I'm just going to relax for a bit." I grow lazy, I grow complacent about my sinfulness, and while I may not deny Him with my outward actions my heart reveals its own inherent sinfulness. I put what I want to do, or not do, before what God has called me to do. My heart would seek to dethrone Him by inactivity and slothfulness while convincing me that I've grown enough.
God is merciful, however, in continuing to remind me that I cannot just stay where I am. If my faith is a life long journey that will reach its completion in eternity...well...If I'm not actively seeking to move forward, is that not the very same thing as moving backward? Does life not pass us by if we are not engaged in it? How much more in faith?
Paul compared this life in faith to a race; a race to be run, a race to persevere in, a race that must be finished - you can do none of these things if you are not moving forward yet how often do we look at the Cross as the finish and say "We're done, we're OK in His eyes by the shed blood of Christ" rather than seeing it for what it is - our beginning? Hebrews tells us that we must labor to enter into His promised rest. That rest is not now, it is not here, but it is to come when we move on into glory, therefore we must strive each and every day. It is work, but it is a good work and God will give us grace if only we would press in.
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Karen Loritts is deliviring a great message over at the True Woman conference.
This got me thinking about my faith and the times when I feel most distant from Him. I'm fairly certain that most (if not all) of those seasons have come not from me consciously saying "I'm going to ignore Him and turn my back on Him," instead they often come simply from me saying "I've worked hard enough, I'm OK where I am at, I'm just going to relax for a bit." I grow lazy, I grow complacent about my sinfulness, and while I may not deny Him with my outward actions my heart reveals its own inherent sinfulness. I put what I want to do, or not do, before what God has called me to do. My heart would seek to dethrone Him by inactivity and slothfulness while convincing me that I've grown enough.
God is merciful, however, in continuing to remind me that I cannot just stay where I am. If my faith is a life long journey that will reach its completion in eternity...well...If I'm not actively seeking to move forward, is that not the very same thing as moving backward? Does life not pass us by if we are not engaged in it? How much more in faith?
Paul compared this life in faith to a race; a race to be run, a race to persevere in, a race that must be finished - you can do none of these things if you are not moving forward yet how often do we look at the Cross as the finish and say "We're done, we're OK in His eyes by the shed blood of Christ" rather than seeing it for what it is - our beginning? Hebrews tells us that we must labor to enter into His promised rest. That rest is not now, it is not here, but it is to come when we move on into glory, therefore we must strive each and every day. It is work, but it is a good work and God will give us grace if only we would press in.
***
Karen Loritts is deliviring a great message over at the True Woman conference.
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