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Great is your mercy O Lord, Give me life according to your rules. [Psalm 119:156] Christian life is not about taking a break from God, but taking a break to be with God.
Relapse from God
Backsliding never happens suddenly, it is invariably a slow, insidious process that we are initially unaware of, a gradual drifting away. This is when we need the mercy of God to revive us, to restore unto us the joy of salvation. Backsliding happened in the lives of Samson, David and even the Lord’s disciples. The Bible records these valuable lessons, which can light our path and direct us towards the solution.
Samson:
God rescued him from many mistakes and anointed him. However, he started getting used to the false idea that he could continue to do wrong. He was abusing the grace of God, and at a certain point did not realize that the Spirit of God had left him. He had lost his sensitivity to God. God’s grace is never the license to sin, but the freedom to say ‘I don’t have to sin’ and the power to overcome the problem. It is given for a purpose, not meant to be wasted. [2 Corinthians 6:1] God’s grace forgives, but sometimes we may have to face sin’s painful consequences if we continue to disobey. And it is always His mercy and not our righteousness that we ought to rely on, when we present our petitions to God. [Daniel 9:18]
David:
David thought he could ‘let sleeping dogs lie,’ not acknowledge the truth, and carry on with his life. But in Psalm 32 he describes the repercussion, a draining away of his spiritual vitality, causing him to call out to the Lord for a restoration of the joy of salvation. [Psalm 51] He received it when he stopped trying to hide his sins and pretending; he realized that a broken and contrite spirit is all that the Lord desires. God accepts each one of us just as we are, because of what Christ has done for us on Calvary.
Disciples:
They were with the Master observing and hearing Him, even driving out demons in His Name. But when Christ was betrayed and arrested, they did not stand with Him. Peter even denied Him and later wept. The risen Lord though went searching for them. He reached out to them and displayed His scars, not to remind them of their sins, but to reinforce the truth that their sins were forgiven! Even this day, we have to remind ourselves of what He has done – not to feel guilty, but grateful, to be healed and not be haunted by our sinful past. We can boldly approach the throne of grace to receive His mercy and grace. By His mercy you will be revived – receive life in all its fullness.
Just come as you are to Jesus !
