This is one of my most read and thought on scriptures. On a regular basis I try to walk through these verses and see how I am doing personally. I like to see my life mirrored in these verses of scripture and look at what I need to change. I want to continually be walking the Christ-like life, looking and watching all around me rescuing time and opportunity. I remind myself these are evil days so not to be foolish and unwise in my daily actions. I know what the will of God is, its clearly seen in His Word, so I must live daily like I know to live.
This is not something I can just major in on Sunday and not think about it the rest of the week. Tuesday is part of the evil days just like Sunday is. So I have to pay attention every day and walk in the will of God. Too many Christians waste time simply drifting. Living from Sunday to Sunday never considering what the will of God really is. This drifting is costing many their callings and will end up causing many to spend eternity in the wrong place. Drifting is a dangerous action in the life of a person who is trying to be a Christian.
Drifting is not to be confused with waiting. Waiting is an intentional choice. Drifting is choosing not to choose. One passage in Psalms tells us to “wait upon the Lord.” We wait with intention, believing that something will happen although we know not when. We wait when we pause to reflect and contemplate for insight. We wait on the Lord with anointing in our life.
Drifting is different. It is listless: It neither waits nor acts. Ever heard it said of someone that he stopped to think and forgot to start again? That’s drifting. Do you recall what Paul asks the church in Galatians 5:7, “You did run well but who hindered you?” That’s drifting. He goes on to say in verse 16, Walk in the Spirit and you will not fall under the direction of your own desires and wants. We should pause – to reflect, to relax, or to reenergize – but not to check out and start drifting. There are some things that will cause us to start to drift. There may be many but there are four I have listed that I believe and feel the scriptures bear out that can cause all of us to start to drift.
1. Lack of Prayer and Devotion to God
When we get ourselves to the place where we don’t have time for unhurried moments with God we are quickly becoming like a ship who doesn’t stop for fuel. You can never get enough strength in your life just at a church service. You will have to personally stop for Prayer and Devotion if you are to keep from drifting. In the business magazine, Christian Professional, I came across an article that centered on this subject. The writer made some powerful points as to why we must stop and refuel through Prayer and Devotion. He said, “How you choose to fill your calendar has profound implications. Giving time to God involves sacrifice, but it is the most meaningful offering you can bring to the altar as you worship Him. Honoring God has a cost. Neglecting time with the Lord in favor of other pursuits is, in essence, idolatry. The hard truth is, when we do not have enough time for God, that says more about our view of God than our busy schedule.” The lack of continual Prayer and Devotion sets you and me up for a storm in life to take us under or blow us into a place that we may never fully recover a portion of our life. God never intended on us making it through life or to heaven without His daily hand in our life.
2. Failure to Value Continual Growth
Paul uses word like “Strive” “Work” and “Endurance” to describe the walk of faith.
Jesus said in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter in…” The word, strive here means, to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or generally (to endeavor to accomplish something): Each day, week, month and year, we should strive to be better than we were before. Stagnation is not an option. We are either moving forward or we are moving back. If we stay as we are and the church grows on we simply backslide by staying in one place. As a child of God what are your growth plans? What are your goals in God?
Are you growing and putting value on growth or are you simply staying the same as you always have been? One of the quickest ways to start to drift is simply too stop growing in grace and the admonition of the Lord. 2 Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...” NKJV Can you look and see your walk for God is clearly greater than it was this time last year? Or does everything just seem the same? If it is, you may be just drifting and I would warn you that the next storm of life could take you under.
3. Failure to be Instructed and Accountable
The truth is, while most of us hate to have someone checking up on us, accountability keeps us on track. To know someone is watching to see if we are changing will cause us to try. Often when it comes to our faith and walk for God we tend to avoid accountability. We say, “My faith is between me and God.” Yet, we fail to realize that we have a greater chance of being productive in Christ and our Christ-like-life if we have someone checking up on our progress.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.” NKJV
Yesterday I was blessed to spend several hours between our services being coached. I got up this morning still tasting the wonderful nourishment of having someone speak into and at my life. I hope I never get to the place I can't park my life and truly listen to someone instruct me and I be accountable to them. It is amazing to me that we understand the importance of coaching in the sports world and the powerful need for coaching in the business world. Yet, we tend to make our walk with God so personal that we refuse to listen to someone giving us personal instruction and coaching about our walk with God.
4. Defining Motion as Productivity
Lisa was determined to get a big bonus. So she was shocked when the bonus checks arrived and hers was underwhelming. She stormed into her boss’ office, “I made more sales calls, sent out more samples, and logged more miles than anyone else last year! She said. “Why is my check so small?” Her boss leaned back in her chair and said, “But how many deals did you close, how many contracts did you get signed?”
Lisa’s mistake is obvious: She focused on activity, not results. It’s the same mistakes a lot of Children of the Lord make. We can list a lot of motion and action of stirring around, but there is little productivity to show for it. Lack of production frustrates us and often causes us to do two things.
1. We give up and quit because we are embarrassed simply because our actions, or motions has us doing a lot of talking and when we don’t produce we become easily discourage and we quit.
2. We tend to blame or point at other people’s failures because we don’t want to be the only one not producing and we want others faults to be noticed.
Watch both of these happen in the story found in Luke 10. Martha is busy with action and no doubt embarrassed by the fact she has not stopped to hear Jesus so she points out that she doesn’t think Mary is doing enough action. To which Jesus says, "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42 NIV
I challenge you today to look around you and at your life. How are you doing? How are you walking? Don’t be unwise these days are evil. Understand what God wants and grab hold of the chance to get closer to Him today.
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