Today’s Devotion
Topic: Backsliding?
Text: Lamentations 4: 1- 2
1 How the gold has lost its lustre, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner. 2 How the precious children of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter’s hands! Amen
If your knowledge of God is now based on past experiences and your fellowship with Him appears marginalized to make way for several “equally important” issues, then there is a problem. If prayer mostly represents hard work other than a pleasurable interaction with your Maker, then bit by bit, we are sliding backwards; away from the loving arms of our Father in heaven to an uncertain place we are bound to regret sooner or later.
But the question is, how does this happen? How is it that we lose that gem we are in Christ and become sacred gemstones that are scattered in the streets? How come we willingly trade off our worth in Christ to become something ordinary?
Well, drifting away from God, beloved, doesn’t happen like a “big bang”. It’s a subtle and gradual process. It begins when our knowledge and dependence on God switches to self-reliance, either because we have gained an advantage in life which we never had before or feel disappointed in the ways of God and would rather choose our own path.
You will see that right after we switch from being submissively dependent on God, we begin to compromise a lot on godly values while settling for human philosophy. With time, these things become a part of us (the ideologies that run our world). Jesus loses His place in our lives.
We all are aware however, that “by strength shall no man prevail” (1 Samuel 2:9). Our worth of gold is only valuable in Christ. Far beyond just the reason for our existence, He remains the priceless beauty that makes the gem we are worthwhile. Without Him, life becomes a circus without real value, meaning and purpose.
Joy has been compromised for temporal happiness, sweet fellowship is compromised for the company of friends who themselves are as limited and vulnerable as we are. Daily strides made, sometimes become the monsters that threaten our peace for tomorrow because they hang on the philosophies of men and not on the principles of God.
Beloved, there’s nothing beautiful about being BACKSLIDDEN. Let’s return to Jesus once again. We need him more everyday than we need the air we breathe. We need Him to keep us in our youth, when our passions are strong ; to keep us in old age, when becoming conceited in wisdom yet weak in bones; to keep us even at the point of death, lest we deny Him at the very last moment.
Begin to pray now and ask God to invigorate you always and keep you grounded. Pray for loved ones who have wandered from God to return to him. His love will breathe new life and revive our dry bones. Here we are, to take our place as the precious CHILDREN OF ZION WHOSE WORTH IS SOLID GOLD AND NOT MERE CLAY. See you at church.
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