‘KILLERS’ OF FAITH [DAY 5]
Text: Hebrews 12;14-16
For most believers, the greatest danger to faith is not some cataclysmic event that dramatically pushes them away from God. Rather, it’s the slow, gradual dulling of their hearts toward Him. They lose all ability to “see” God, to perceive His activity on Earth.
Our text enumerates some dangers to our faith in God and they are as follows:
1. Division (Heb 12:14)
Division and strife have a way of making us forget all about the Kingdom of God. Someone offends us, and our pride gets riled up—we are consumed with our rights and our interests.
The author of Hebrews encourages us to “seek peace,” which means we are to be the first to offer forgiveness, even when wronged. It means we take the towel and wash the feet of those in conflict with us, like Christ did. It means we serve our “enemies” and seek their well-being.
This has a way of immediately renewing our commitment to the Kingdom of Christ. Humility in service and forgiveness is a grace God gives us to renew our faith.
2. Idolatry (Heb 12:15)
Idolatry is like a poisonous weed, or as the author of Hebrews says, a “root of bitterness.” It starts very subtly but soon infiltrates the entire garden. Tragically, a lot of us will miss the grace of God because we are distracted by idolatry. We allow something to carry more weight in our heart than God—for some, it is money; for others, it is the approval of their peers; for others, it is the ambition for success. It’s when a good thing becomes a God thing.
What dominates your thoughts? What makes you jealous? What has made you bitter? Whatever that thing is, it is an idol to us, and if we aren’t vigilant, it will choke out desires for God. Idolatry removes our ability even to see God.
3. Sensual pleasures (Heb 12:16)
Think about how much people arrange their lives just to “feel good.” There is nothing wrong with finding joy, but the source of that joy is crucial. Rolling Stone carried an article recently about how the best Hollywood parties go from Friday night to Monday morning and are just flowing with great food, alcohol, ecstasy, and sex.
There must be more to life than bodily sensations! But for many of us, the addictiveness of immorality or bodily comforts is drugging us and keeping us from thinking about what really matters. Like Esau, we trade the eternal for a fleeting sensation.
Having known these ‘killers’ to our faith in God, we must ask for the Grace of God to help us overcome them.
PRAYER:
Father, I pray for your grace upon my life. The grace that will help overcome the flesh and any other thing that will corrode my faith in You. I thank you because I know you’re more than able to help strengthen my faith. Amen!