Tuesday February 7, 2017

 

Digging In

 

Don’t overreact, its just one drink, just one date, I just need a break…the longer you live, the more prone you are to being carried away by the currents; carried away in your relationships, your finances, morally, spiritually, and in any and all areas of your life. One day you wake up only to realize just how far your life has veered off course. Your goal was not to become distanced from God. Neither was your plan to end up in a broken marriage or your strategy to end up with a large amount of debt. You never intended to feel lonely or depressed. Perhaps at this point you are saying to yourself; thank God this has not happened to me. However, if you fail to anchor your life, eventually, you will ask yourself the same question that all people who veer off course ask themselves; how did I get here?

 

Veering off course always begins with a thought, which subsequently becomes a step in the wrong direction. What happens is, you wake up the next day and realize there was no notable difference; that not much has changed, that there were no major consequences and so the thought that became a step now becomes your normal behavior. When this happens, you will one day wake up and ask yourself, how did I get here?

 

We need to come to the realization that our lives are constantly being pushed and pulled by the currents of this world and all it takes is one small step in the wrong direction to initiate the process of being carried away. For followers of Jesus, the first step towards veering off course is always disobedience to God. Initially it is just a thought that eventually became an act, which then becomes your normal behavior. Obeying God is the anchor that keeps us fastened and grounded. The deception is to believe that if we raise the anchor (just this one time) to relieve the pressure the currents will subside.

 

The Laws of the Anchor

 

1. Where you decide to anchor yourself is where you will feel the most pressure.

 

Wherever you decide to draw the line; in the area you decide to say “no”, that is where you will feel the most pressure. That is where the currents will battle against you the most.

 

2. The further down the stream you travel the stronger the currents become.

 

Each time you decide to lift your anchor, your life will be pushed further down the stream and the further downstream you go, the stronger the pressure becomes. When you think to yourself, it’s just this one time, I just want to relieve some pressure, remember that once you lift your anchor you will be carried further down the stream where the currents become even stronger. If you keep lifting your anchor, eventually the currents will get so strong that you will no longer be able to anchor yourself. That is when you will lose control and the currents will carry you away.

 

1 Kings 2:3 NLT

 

Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go.

 

Lasting peace and happiness, with the strength to battle the currents, is the result of digging in. Obeying God’s law will provide you with a safe harbor from all the challenges you will face. However, if at the present moment, you are feeling out of control, as though you are being carried away, the first step to take is repentance and obedience to God, this will anchor your life.