Why is it that we sometimes stagnate in our walk with the Lord? I have found that when the Spirit of God is moving in our lives, the things of the Spirit become very familiar to us. And if we’re not careful, we can let them become so commonplace that we stop expecting.
We stop using our faith to change. And when we stop using our faith, when we stop expecting, when we stop being hungry—that’s when we stagnate spiritually.
Let me tell you what happens to a lot of Christians. They get born again, Spirit-filled, and delivered from bondage. They’re on fire, going one hundred percent for God! They wouldn’t miss church for anything.
God is mightily blessing them. Their lives have begun to change because of the Word. They’re telling everyone, “I’m so glad I’m a Christian!”
Then all of a sudden, they start getting comfortable. With that comfort comes a little bit of laziness. Then they develop the attitude, “Well, if I miss a day of reading my Bible, it doesn’t really make that much difference. And I prayed yesterday, so I don’t have to pray today. God will understand. He knows how busy I am!”
A little later they say, “I don’t believe I’ll go to church tonight. I’ll get the CD to find out what went on in the service.”
Gradually these Christians have gone from excited to comfortable to lazy to lukewarm. Now they start growing cold to the things of God. Where is the fire that burned in their hearts? Where is the passion and the love they once had for Jesus?
Meanwhile, their lives become more and more complicated with busyness and the pursuit of worldly things. In the end, they become backslidden and don’t even realize how it happened. They are emotionally and physically drained. They have ceased to increase in God.
My husband, Mac, often chastises me for running my car on empty. He’s constantly telling me, “Lynne, I never get in your car when it has more than a fourth of a tank of gas. And most of the time, it has a lot less than that! You’re usually running on fumes!”
Too many Christians run on fumes spiritually. They hurry through their days with very little Word, no prayer, and no manifested presence of God. They live on the ragged edge of life, squeezing through situations in their own strength instead of pushing through them with the power of God. They still have the title of Christian, but they are living far below that standard.
Don’t ever get satisfied with where you are in your walk with God. Don’t ever start thinking, I’m filled, and I don’t need any more. Stay hungry every minute of every day for more of Him.
That’s the way God expects us to live in this hour. He has given us a standard to live by—to constantly increase in God. We are not to stray off that standard even an inch!
In order to live by that divine standard, I’ve learned over the years to always treat myself like a dry sponge. I may even be filled with God’s presence at the moment, but I still think of myself as a dry sponge that’s desperately in need of more Holy Ghost rain. Why do I do that? Because if I start thinking of myself as already filled, I won’t go any further in the process of becoming filled to all the fullness of God.