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When I was younger my parents had a treadmill, sometimes I would be allowed to use it. When I was, I would turn it on really low. While just finding it so cool that I could walk while staying in the same place. Every now and again I would stand still, letting the treadmill take me back as far as I could before I fell off the back.

Lukewarm Christians do the same thing in their walk with God.

 James 4:6-8: "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." 

 

I have been taught since I was very little that if you are not getting closer to God, you are getting farther away. 

 

Image yourself on a long road of life, at one end is Heaven, at the other end Hell. As you begin to walk towards heaven you notice the ground under your feet begin to shift, pulling you back towards Hell, you don’t worry much at first because you are still moving forward, a little slower than when you first started but at least, you’re still moving. After a while you get tired so you stop to rest. You seem far enough away from hell that a quick break won’t kill you or anything but you don’t stop for too long before you keep moving again. 

 

Now that break could be any kind of sin or temptation in your life, no matter how minute, still draws you away from the Lord. 

 

You begin to go again, after that break you feel like you got this now. You tell yourself, yeah that was just a one-time thing I can go the distance. Now, after some walking we are back to the point you stopped to rest but you continue on, yet looking around and noticing that there are a few obstacles in the trail now that you have to walk around or step over. It slows you down but for only a moment, because you remembered how far back the break is to you so you keep moving forward remembering to guard your heart.

 

Like what King Soloman told his son in Proverbs 4:23: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

 

The farther you go the obstacles get bigger and harder to get past. You start to think about how far you have come and tell yourself; you know this spot isn’t too bad. As long as I walk fast enough to stay where I am at, I’ll be ok. After some consideration that is what you chose to do.  So, after a few months of this cycle of just staying where you are, you get into a pattern of starting, then stopping, then getting really motivated for a little while never really gaining any ground. You find yourself slipping further and further back without realizing it. The monotony of going through the motions is seeming less and less worth it.

 

Then you hear a still small voice saying, “Don’t stop here, I have more for you, come closer to me.”

 

Then you remember all the messages, all the scripture you have read, and you decide that you have nothing to lose, so why not. 

You begin again this time not with motivation to be dwindled at the first sign of struggle but with a new found purpose and discipline you push through some obstacles you didn’t try before. Now your walk with God becomes more than just a reasonable service, it becomes a lifestyle of change. You begin to become more and more comfortable being uncomfortable. You start to realize that it really isn’t what you thought, you find that the closer and closer you get to God, He becomes closer. 

 

It is mentioned in our opening scripture of James 4:8: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."

 

Yet something feels wrong, you always imagined getting close to God would feel good and provide a sense of relaxation.

 

That is incorrect to a point. The scripture does tell us that his burden is light and he will help us through the trials of life.

 

Yet, there is a layer that not many focus on, as mentioned in Isaiah 6:5: "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."

 

In this scripture we see how Isaiah tells the Lord that he is unclean and unable to be in his presence through chapter 6; because the closer you get to God the more unclean you feel. No matter how many times you pray, read your bible, or fast, you will have the impurities come to the top and float to the top. When that happens, and only then, can the Lord properly deal with, heal and fix those issues of life.

 

When you begin to go above and beyond by cutting out things that aren’t really a heaven or hell issue, but could be something in between you and the Lord, he will take notice when you go above the status quo. At some times all that it is to go above and beyond is being patient and staying the course.

 

As it says in Isaiah 40:31: " But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint."

 

You must stay the course and stay committed to your relationship with God.

 

Do not let the devil throw you off course, because he will try. But, the amazing part is that Lucifer had to go to Jesus and ask for his permission, just like in Job when the Lord had said, “Have you considered my servant Job”? Perhaps the Lord is asking the enemy of our soul if he has considered you...

May God Bless you.