A Slow Fade

Nobody sets a goal of failure. We may set unreachable goals to make sure we accomplish the maximum we can, but we don't say, "my goal is to be a failure." We don't set out to fail at our job, marriage, or at life. Nobody has a goal of becoming an alcoholic, an addict of any type, an adulterer, or a thief. But people do become those things. Sometimes even people within the church wind up in similar situations. This means that we all have this potential and need to know how lives become shipwrecked.

Almost never do these things happen all at once. Conversely, almost always, it is a series of events and choices that play out over a period of time. It is, according to a song by the group Casting Crowns, "a slow fade when you give yourself away." In other words, we get off course and wind up far away from God when we take "one step at a time"…..in the wrong direction! First, one step sideways gets us off-course, and then as we keep walking in that direction, we go farther and farther in the wrong direction.

I recently read an illustration from Danny Gokey (Worship Leader/Christian Music Artist) that speaks to this. He talked about someone in a motorboat on a large body of water. He said,

““If you are trying to reach a specific fixed point off in the distance, the motor will help you move in the right direction. If you decide to cut off the motor and just relax, the wind or waves or current will begin to take you off course. You may not even realize it if you aren’t paying close attention until you are way off course and a long way from your desired end.” ”

This truly illustrates our life as Christians. If we are fixed on God, seeking to move ever closer to Him, we have the Bible as our motor. It is that which is stronger than the current of our culture and will keep us on course. The Word of God will keep us moving in the right direction even when the winds of society and the culture's current are trying to push us off course. The key for us is never to cut off the motor.

When we build our lives around the Word of God, and as we carefully order our steps in His Word, we will be moving closer and closer to Him. Just as we move away from God one step at a time in the wrong direction, we can also grow closer to Him one step at a time in the right direction.

We need to make sure we don't relax and become complacent. We must ensure we are intentional in keeping the spiritual disciplines that enable us to move in the right direction.

We will make decisions every day, and every decision is a step. We will either drift away from God. Be carried by the current of the culture. Or, hopefully, we will be compelled toward God by the power of His Word directing our lives.