Wed the 7th

Galatians 4: ⁸Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. ⁹But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

 

The slow fade is the phenomenon that Paul is talking about. We are taught by this world to want more, always. No matter what we get, no matter what heights we attain, there is still the desire for more. As a result what we wanted no longer holds the same appeal once we get it. We are slaves to the world. We allow our status, our belongings, our friends, and our bank accounts to be the masters of our day. When we accept Christ into our lives, and we allow Him to change our hearts, it is truly an amazing event in our lives. But all too often we fall victim to the slow fade in our relationship with Him. We start equating what we get from the Lord with our satisfaction level in the Lord! Like any new relationship, in the beginning it is full of “me” loaded payoff. Our lives improve, our relationships improve, often as a result of our relationship, and our new found self control, our bank accounts improve.  The mistake is made when we look at all we have been given, and then start to expect more. We forget that all of those improvements in our lives are just fluff, extras, given to us because we begin to understand how much God loves us, and how much He loves it when we love Him back….but life rolls on, as life always does. We get comfortable with our new gifts, we grow accustomed to having the Lord bless us so generously, and we start to look at the blessings instead of the Lord. We fall right into the trap that has been set by the world, and we begin to look for more blessings without looking for the Lord. We start down the path of enslavement to what we have all over again, and find ourselves very far from the Lord. It is when you hear people say “well the Lord just does not take care of me like He used to”, or “I just don’t feel that the Lord is with me like He used to be.” To those who might feel like that, all I can say is that you are 100% right! Although don’t make the mistake and think it is the Lord that has withdrawn from the relationship…..no, that is all our doing. The Lord might not take care of you like He used to, because we don’t take care of our side of the relationship, You might not feel His presence with you, but it is because we push Him out of the way searching for that next blessing. We start asking what has the Lord done for me, instead of what more can I do for the Lord. Do not allow yourself to become a slave to the world again. God has a purpose for you, a purpose that only you can accomplish. He has placed his hand of blessing on you, and has promised to never leave you. You are no longer tied to this world by the chains of it’s rulers. Through the love of God, and Christ, even the chains of death have no power to bind you. You are the Lord’s, and the Lord is yours. Do not look for the next blessings, search out the Lord. Don’t spend your time waiting for the Lord to give you something, go find Him, so that you might stand at His side and not just see the next blessing, but you can see His path for you. Don’t let the slow fade of the world enslave you again.

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford