A Shipwrecked Faith

A post from November 2022:

 “It is our responsibility to “be on guard’. We have to be aware of the dangers to our faith and do what is necessary to provide satan no open door to our hearts. 

I don’t know what dangers to your faith there might be, or where you may be tempted to be lax in your faith journey. I just know the Scripture admonishes us to be alert, watchful, vigilant, to see our faith strengthened. We are to be continually “growing in grace and the knowledge of our Savior” (2 Peter 3:18). Are you growing? Do you know more of Jesus today than yesterday? A year ago? What hardships or challenges may have sidelined you, or brought you up short of His grace and peace and joy? What has dulled your senses to the glories of Christ? 

Don’t be ignorant of the dangers to your faith. Don’t disregard the warning signs. It may be as simple as a subtle shift in thinking, an annoyance, a distraction, an unresolved offense. It may be physical pain or even a tragedy that shakes the very foundations of all we believe. It happens when we least expect it, catching us off guard. Just be aware. Stay in the Word. Stay connected with your church and community of believers. Stay sensitive to the Spirit’s quiet promptings. Stay in worship mode - prayer, gratitude, giving, worship and praise music, service to others. 

Don’t find yourself stranded along your faith journey.” 

I made this post, never thinking for a minute that I would see someone I love dearly in a spiritually dangerous place, going their own way to “be true to themselves”, disregarding God’s Word and walking away from the ones that love them most, to follow their own mind about life and choices. Whether it was out of genuine concern for the hurt the truth would cause, fear of confrontation, or maybe some other very real and personal reason, they hid what they really believed for a very long time, quietly and subtly distancing themselves from family and other believers. Church attendance, worship, fellowship continued…on the surface, until eventually the choice was made to just walk away from it all. It culminated in being self-absorbed, consumed with how they felt and who they believed they must be at the expense of those they loved. But what of their faith? Did they abandon it? Were they ever truly a believer? 

Paul speaks of a shipwrecked faith in 1 Timothy 1:19; 

     “For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.” 

Because our own choices are the only ones we can control, it is a helpless feeling, and devastating to see someone you love willfully disregarding God’s Word and openly embracing sin. It is hard to stand by and watch as they make choices based on feelings and a philosophy of life contrary to God’s Truth. It is painful to see them distancing themselves from Jesus, and as a result, from you and their godly family and community of believers. There is rejection, grief, feelings of betrayal.  How did it happen? When did it begin? Were there indicators to the fact that their mind and heart was changing? Were their needs and struggles, questions that needed answers? 

Feelings are a powerful motivator. It is emotionally exhausting to be constantly battling with what seem to be uncontrollable feelings, leaving many to feel helpless and confused. It is easier to just give in. And there is no short supply of influencers standing ready to empower, educate, and lure us and our loved ones away from the very One that provides healing, worth and contentment. Others are simply reacting, from abuse, loneliness, temptation, thoughts of having ‘missed out’ in some way. Whatever the reason, this is happening all too often.

In John 6:59-69, Jesus teaches some “hard things”. His teachings were somewhat offensive, going against the grain of current cultural beliefs and the religious system of the day. Jesus experienced hurt and rejection as many turned back from following Him.  He asked his disciples, “Will you also go away?” Peter’s answer helps us gain understanding and confidence in dealing with the fact that many will be offended at His Truth. Many will begin to question their beliefs as they are bombarded with philosophies and ideas that seem to bring some relief from the pull to “be true to self”. Many will go away. But to Whom will we go?

“To Whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  John 6: 68-69

To Whom shall we go? 

We go to Jesus. Don’t get lost in all the hurt, the grief, the heartbreak. Don’t get caught up in the differences and disagreements. Take it to Jesus, often, always! Don’t let it negatively impact your relationship with Jesus. Be careful that concern does not turn to worry. Feed on His word. Worship. Pray. Allow the Spirit of God to minister grace to your own heart so you can be focused and fearless in fighting for the spiritual well-being of your loved one. Have others pray with you as you can. They are worth the time and effort spent. As time goes on, it can become easy to give up hope, to get distracted and move into a comfortable separation, or begin to believe that nothing can be done about what has happened, so why keep thinking about it? Think about it, dwell on it, but only in terms of love and prayer and hope. In Luke 15, when the prodigal son “came to himself” and decided he needed to go home to his father, he found that “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him….” (v.20). We go to Jesus, and anticipate the homecoming. 

You have the words of eternal life. 

Be reminded of what really matters, and that’s eternity. The sacred Scripture is power. It is life-giving. It is eternal. Pray and believe the promises of God for loved ones, and keep praying, that God will remind them and bombard them with His love and Truth; that they will remember things they have been taught and perhaps have known since a young child; that they will be assured and assaulted with Who Jesus is—-He is the Son of the Living God. Think and pray from an eternal perspective about His care for their soul. After all, the most important thing is that they be brought back into a right relationship with Jesus, or if they never truly knew Him, that they come to know Him in a real and personal way as Savior. Yes, their sin does impact us, and others. But this is not about us. God heals our hearts, and theirs, as we surrender our hurt and hearts to Him. 

Words.   

Continue to love. This may sound like a given. But often it is the expression of our love that becomes extremely difficult. Often what our loved ones desire is our affirmation and endorsement of their behavior and choices. They want us to affirm that what they are doing is acceptable. They may accuse us of being unloving and unsupportive when we cannot condone or support their choices. Continue to love, even from a distance if need be. Love, and pray, and always be available. The most unloving thing we can do is dismiss Truth and enable our loved ones to believe we are not bothered by their sinful choices. If they choose to believe that by loving, we must agree and support them in their sin, that is a choice they make. And yes that may alienate them for a time. They may pull away, and this is what most are afraid of. They don’t want to risk the separation. It may even be viewed as a lost opportunity. But it also gives God space to work. He doesn’t need us to do His work for Him. 

Please understand. Attitudes, opinions, prejudices, personal judgments, verbal attacks, condemnation, arrogance…these push people away. But God’s Word shared in genuine love for what is best for the one loved, is what is needed. Trust Him for the opportune times to do this. Truth shared may still offend, but people should never be offended by the way we share it. Just find every opportunity to let your loved ones know they are loved beyond measure, by you and Jesus. He loves them even more than we ever could. He truly does understand them. What we affirm is in God’s sight they are valued and precious. Send a text. Write a letter.  And just be available. Wait for the opportunity to “run and embrace”, “filled with love and compassion”, as the prodigal father did. God will impress you with ways to practically express your love when you seek Him, when you can get past the personal hurt and how you feel, and just love. 

Just keep praying. Just keep loving. That’s what we can choose to do.