While attending a leaders equipping Conference in Bali
recently we were blessed to be able to get up early every morning to go for a
swim at the stunning Kuta Beach. The water was warm and the beach was amazing.
One thing, however, that we were warned to be aware of was the potential of rips.
The beach is prone to rips and if you don’t pay careful attention then you
could easily get caught and before you know it be taken out to sea.
In Hebrews we are encouraged to ‘pay the most careful
attention’ that we don’t drift away from God and ‘float’ into places and
situations that will cause us to be caught in a ‘spiritual riptide’.
1. Pay most careful attention
Cruise control can be great when travelling
long distances because you don’t need to keep your foot on the accelerator.
However studies show that when people use cruise control their attention
capacity is reduced and they do not respond in dangerous situations as well as drivers
in ‘full control’.
Don’t go into ‘spiritual cruise control’
drifting into influences and teachings that will cause you to drift away from
God. Make sure you are spending the majority of your time with people who are
going to spur you on in your faith. Also monitor what you are allowing to
influence your life whether it is media, music or people. If you fail to pay
most careful attention then you might find yourself drifting away from God without
even knowing it.
2. Put yourself in a place to hear
Avoiding things that are detrimental to our
walk with God is important but we also need to make sure that God and His Word
has the loudest voice in our lives. Are you hearing from God and deliberately
putting yourself in places to hear the voice of God and His Word? Make attending
church regularly a priority, commit to going to a Life group or small group, meet
with God in your own person devotion time and get to the church events and
courses that are going to help your walk with God and to know His Word. You can’t
act on what you do not know but ignorance is not a valid excuse either. Make
sure God is and stays the top priority in your life.
3. Action it
To ensure that we don’t just drift along
and get caught in a ‘Spiritual Riptide’ we need to ensure that we act on what
we hear. We can hear and know God’s Word but not live it out. Commit to taking
what you hear and putting it into practice. ‘Drifting’ is passive and we should
fight to ensure that we never get passive in our walk with God. James 1:22 says
‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so
deceive yourselves. Do what it says.’
If we pay most careful attention to what is influencing
us, put ourselves in a place to hear God’s Word and deliberately action what we
hear, then we will guard ourselves from drifting away from God.
