Clutch slipping
1… Don’t waver. Stay on track, steady in God.
I can hear many people immediately going on the defensive, saying that it’s not so easy staying faithfully on the right track. Life happens and there are many challenges out there. We work our fingers to the bone to simply keep our heads above water. For sure our clutch will slip sometimes and we’ll crash off the road.
Our nature is sinful. We are human. At times it will boil over and we’ll say things we really regret later on. Sometimes we do things that are so out of character for us, and we have to take the consequences. It is really bad to keep on falling into sin. How can we grow stronger? How can we stand against the attacks of the devil and win every time?
I was marrying a couple on the family farm in the Koue-Bokkeveld where my dad had grown up. Where those lovely fresh apples and pears come from. I explained to them how difficult it was to get the apples on the shop shelves so nice and fresh. It was actually a long and very expensive process. First the soil must be prepared. Then the right plant material had to be cultivated. And eventually when the trees were in the ground, the real hard work started. Lots and lots of water and food and continuous spraying to prevent pests and diseases.
A marriage also needed hard work. God had to be included in the relationship to help prepare the soil and to ensure that the trees (i.e. the man and the woman) were good material. And that was when the hard work started. Now they had to take care to prevent the clutch from slipping. Now they had to ensure that they stayed on the right track and that pests and diseases did not come and destroy the fruit.
I read Psalm 1 to them. Look at this good advice for staying on the right track:
God likes you very much, because you never listen to bad people. You don’t follow every new sin on the market. You’re also not friends with those who mock God.
God is very glad that you enjoy his Word. You read it day and night without becoming tired.
That is why you are like a big tree standing strong next to a water stream.
This tree bears many fruit at the right time and his leaves remain green.
His power shines brightly in everything that you do. And that is why all is going well with you.
Mix with people who will look for the right road with you. Friends have a big influence on your life. They’re like magnets and quickly pull us into their circle. However, if they don’t like the things of God, they pull away from God and obviously you go with them.
Find friends who serve God.
But most important, make time for God. Every morning. Every evening. When you have some spare time, spend it in God’s presence. Study his Word, read spiritual books, watch spiritual material, because this is where our intimate relationship with God begins. This is where we spray against the pests and diseases in our lives and get rid of them.
Then we can stay on God’s road and really make a difference wherever we go.
Reflection
Are you on God’s road?
How much time do you spend in God’s presence?
Can you describe your relationship with God as healthy?
Prayer
Lord, we have to hang our heads in shame, because we continue to pull in the wrong direction. We spend too little time with You. We spend too little time with your Word. We want to spend more and more time with You. Amen
