If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. -Isaiah 7:9 (NIV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. -Romans 12:2 (NIV)
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. -Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV)
It’s really, really easy to drift away from the faith.
Maybe you skip church one more time. Hey, you’re still studying the bible on your own, right? (Right?) And then, even that individual study time dwindles till it is replaced with more worldly time fillers and pursuits.
Maybe you’re just really, really busy. The commute, work, kids, church commitments, other commitments, etc.
Maybe you’re just worn out. There’s so much hypocrisy and discouraging stories of people you thought were Christians, but failed you in your estimation of them.
Well, let’s drop the anchor and slow it down to a stop. We need to get our bearings.
I can testify that I can feel the journey of faith and obedience as one that rocks back and forth in the waters. Sometimes the waters are smooth. Sometimes they’re choppy. And sometimes, there seemingly isn’t any identifiable marker from horizon to horizon to know where you’re going.
Ah, but that’s a trick. That’s when we let allow the enemy to surround us in a fog of busyness or distraction. It can happen so gradually that we don’t notice it, or that there’s nothing wrong going on.
But when the anchor is dropped, and we’re at full stop, we can re-center on Jesus. We can get back into His Word. We can drop, one by one, the influences that were pulling us away and adrift at sea. We can rejoin our brothers and sisters in fellowship, and build each other up once more.
Jesus is the beacon of light who can guide us back on track, and His light can also warn us, like a lighthouse through discernment, of dangers that can draw us away or outright shipwreck us on our journey.
Drop anchor as often as you need to, especially when the waters are choppy and the fog is like pea soup. Jesus has a way of calming the waters and burning away the fog, so we can proceed with purpose and direction once more.
Today’s soundtrack
Israel Houghton’s “Jesus at the Center” reminds us who to center our lives on.
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