Scripture:
Jeremiah 3 v 22: "Return, ye backsliding children,
and I will heal your backslidings. Behold we come unto thee, for thou art the
Lord our God."
Hebrews 4 v 11: "Let us labour therefore to enter
into that rest, lest any man fall after that same example of unbelief."
If you are standing still in your relationship with our
Lord Jesus Christ, ie not growing or doing things with and for Jesus, then you
are backsliding in heart. The Holy Spirit is constantly moving within us to
change us into the likeness of Jesus. If we stubbornly refuse to move our
vibrant fellowship with God stagnates.
Stagnant water is not fresh. It gets scummy and has a bad
smell. Death creeps into it and its former life disappears. So it is with our
souls. The Living Water of Jesus constantly flows until we deliberately dam up
that stream.
We don't have time to fellowship with God or other
Christians; we neglect to study our Bibles; our prayer life fades away and old
habits and little sins resurface and things go back to how they were before we
were born again.
The root of this problem is unbelief. Paul calls it an
evil heart of unbelief. Before you became a believer you lived in unbelief.
That is when Jesus is not real to you and you can ignore people who are praying
for your salvation. Unbelief is a deliberate decision to reject God and His
Word and just do your own thing.
In Matthew 7 Jesus said that many follow the broad way that
leads to death but very few find the strait (disciplined) and narrow
(distractions removed) way that leads to life.
There is even a worldly road in a worldly city called
Broadway. The glitz and glamour of fantasy and stage flock there to see and be
seen. Very little of the way, the truth and the life that is Jesus Christ is
found there. It could be called Unbelief Way.
Jesus said He would never leave us once we put our lives
in His hands. Even when we backslide He stays and tries to draw us back. He longs
for our company and to converse with us but we become dull of hearing.
Our ears and minds are so full of what men are saying and
our own opinions that they become deaf to the voice that matters above all others.
The voice of the Saviour trying to guide us through the pitfalls of this world.
Pharoah did not listen when God sent Moses and Aaron to
plead with him to release the Jews to their own land to worship Almighty God.
He brought Egypt to the edge of ruin with his hard heart of unbelief. Until the
angel of death took that which was dearest to him, his own son.
Will you keep hardening your heart until the pond scum of
death has to wreak havoc in your life? Will you wait until plagues fall on your
dwelling before you start to really believe in the majesty of Jesus? Will you
ignore people who are sent to show you the true path until you hit rock bottom
because you think you know best?
Take a step back and look at your situation in life. Is
Jesus the centre of your life? Or does He take a back seat to rugby, tennis,
golf, spouse, children, job, partying, music, cars, TV, boats, sex, idols or
money in your life? The results of Jesus not being centremost is disarray.
Disarray most assuredly describes the consequence of
unbelief and backsliding. Things are not running as smoothly as they should.
Debts mount up, people you rely on let you down, your children are unruly,
sickness disturbs your peace of mind, your inner harmony has left the building.
Pilgrim, if you are wallowing in the Slough of Despond,
you need to evict yourself out of there at high speed and get back on the path
of righteousness. Dust off your Bible, repent of your unbelief and renew your
commitment to God. Pray for the Lord to forgive your neglect of the
relationship with Him and make your life clean before Him again.
Jesus loves you and the Father is waiting for His
prodigals to return from the pigpen of sin. There will be no condemnation just
joy for the backslider's return to the fold.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, there is such joy in our hearts
to be in Your presence. Yet we stray back into darkness and lose that love and
peace. You sent Your Light, Jesus, into the world to draw us back to You. Let
us believe and receive Your salvation so we live in harmony with You and the
family of God. In Jesus' name. Amen.