Can I be honest with you for a moment? Will you take some time to put yourself in my shoes?
My parents raised me well, and took me to Church almost every Sunday. We attended an Assembly of God church. I remember getting saved when I was just 6-years-old.
Why do we get so caught up in seeing these big-named pastors and songwriters that are walking away from their faith? Does their faith have any real bearing on your faith? If their beliefs have control of your walk with Christ, then you are not living a Christ-centered life.
I gave you some short background on me because I can understand how easy it is to walk away; I have walked that dark road. I am not going to try and justify anything that these leaders are doing or saying, but instead I will share what happened in my life.
From my younger years up through high school, I was very active in my church. I did “Royal Rangers” as a kid, went on missions trips with my youth group, but then came college.
I went away for college which was about four hours from home. I tried to find a church; I visited several but none of them felt right. I couldn’t find what I was looking for and life decided to take over and occupy my time.
I walked away from my faith. I cut God out of my life, I didn’t make any time for Him. I can tell you that I bought my first house at the age of 20 years old, had a new car, had a good job, had my first son, and yet when I walked away from God, all of those things fell apart. I had everything the world tells you that you need and yet I was more empty than before.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Satan’s best way to distract you from what God wants is to occupy your time and entertain you with life. Satan doesn’t care about your future, but God truly does. Don’t let the enemy distract you from what God has called you to do.
I can’t stand here and say I can’t believe these men have walked away from their faith when I know I have done the same thing in my past. I can tell you that with praying parents, I may have walked away, but I came back after realizing how much I gave up by walking away.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
As Christians, we can fall into a trap and believe that the road ahead will be easier but the truth is that it becomes much harder. It is easy to be of the world, but it takes work to be Christ-centered. The word of God helps us to understand how to adjust what we focus on.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15
What I failed to realize as a young Christian was that I was going through the motions and that I didn’t have a relationship with Jesus. It wasn’t until I was 32 years old that I decided to let go of control and trust the Lord completely. When I did that, I found my walk with the Lord. Before then, I didn’t realize that there was or even could be more to being a Christian.
Through my trials and tribulations with my wife’s cancer journey, we have seen God provide and move mountains for us. If we never choose to go deeper with the Lord, how can we expect to build a strong foundation that can’t be toppled in a storm? We have to be willing to seek Him out.
As for those that have walked away, I implore you to pray for them. God’s timing and plan for each of us has different paths. Let our prayers be united in asking the Lord to soften their hearts and open their eyes to His truth.
“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:24
The prodigal son can return home; we need to pray that he does.
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