This post is to encourage us all in our relationship with God including myself. I very well understand that the Christian walk can be tough. And sometimes we get tired, weary; we begin to find the commandments grievous, we feel restricted, we start to miss our old worldly lifestyles, our worldly friends and all the “fun” we used to have, the devil begins to whisper and entice us. So, we decide to take a “BREAK” in our relationship with God. We want to go back into the world and have a little bit of “fun” again (roll in our vomit and mud again.)
Now, Imagine God also took a “Break” from us when we decided to take a break from him. Imagine He took a break from taking care of us, protecting us and every other great and wonderful things he does in our lives including the ones we are not even aware of. Can we honestly begin to imagine our lives without God? I honestly want you to pause for a moment and think deeply about it. Jesus said in John 15: 5 (AMP), “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] YOU CAN DO NOTHING.” Without God, we’ll be empty.
You see, I love to picture myself in a circle of God’s arms around me as I go about my daily activities and the devil is outside of the circle, looking for ways to get in. But I do not fret because I know my God will NEVER fold his arms or leave me without protection as long as I remain in the circle of His arms. Now, If I decide to take a break from God, he doesn’t force me and hold me back. We all have our free will, but when we use that free will in a wrong way, it backfires, and we get burned. We just can’t decide to break up our relationship with God anytime and come back anytime we like. God doesn’t want a fickle relationship with us; he wants a permanent and profound relationship with us all.
Our relationship with God is so important because it places us directly under God’s love. And we know our God is a loving father, who guides and protect his children from the devil, just as a mother chicken protects her baby chicks from the eagle. The Bible warns us in 1Peter 5: 8 (NLT), “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” This tells us how dangerous it is to wander around without God’s protection because the truth is we are not always alert. We often sleep off spiritually. But because we dwell in the secret place of the most High God (Psalm 91) and we have a permanent, unshakable and faithful relationship with God, we are safe from the attacks of the devil, and he is not able to devour us. And the moment we decide to step out of that secret place and take a break from God, we become vulnerable, the devil runs a marathon towards us, and we become his food (He devours us with no mercy). The same way a baby chick will become the eagle’s food if he/she decides to leave the protection of his mother. We might say, what kind of a foolish baby chick will do that? But the truth is many times; we are that foolish baby chick. We clearly see the eagle circling in the sky looking for an opportunity to eat us, and we see the devil outside of the circle waiting eagerly for a chance to devour us. Still, we break away from God. How foolish can we be!
I honestly think we take God’s love and grace for granted way too much. We believe that God will be right there waiting for us no matter how long of a break we take, we believe he will come running when we are in danger, and all we have to do is say a little prayer. But we wouldn’t try something like this with our partners or spouses. We won’t willingly take a break for many years from our partners without a reasonable reason or a mutual agreement and expect them to wait for us without moving on. But we do this with God. We trample on his love every single time. We wake up one day, and we are like, “Forget it, am done with all this Christian thing, I quit. My friend is not even a Christian, and he/she is way better than me, he/she makes more money, he/she has fun with his/her life, so bye-bye God.” OR we say, “I will just take a little break from church, fellowship, ministry and explore other things for a while.”
But, thank God for God. Our God IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME. He remains faithful even when we are not. Just because you took a break in your relationship with him, he does not take a break from you. I know this because I have wandered away several times, took so many breaks and am very grateful that God didn’t let go of me. We see how caring and loving our God is right from the beginning of creation. Even after Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the from the tree of life, the Bible says in Genesis 3:21, “And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.” He still cares, no matter what we do. He does not love us for what we do or do not do. LOVE is His nature and Character. God changes for no man. Imagine if God changes according to how we all act. There are about 7 billion people on earth, and if God has to change his personality every time according to how each of us acts, that’s just too much. So He decided to remain as LOVE. Love is way much easier. Love accepts one with all their flaws and faults.
However, as I mentioned earlier, we must stop taking God’s love for granted. We just can’t afford to take a break from God. Even though God doesn’t take a break from us, we are still at some risk from the devil. Because taking a break from God, breaks the relationship bond and leaves a crack or big space depending on how much and how long of a break you too away from God’s presence. Devil seeps in through that space immediately and darling that’s dangerous for your health, spiritually. It’s like eating a live spider, it begins to form webs in your gastrointestinal tract and twists everything upside down. Same way, the devil starts to mess things up inside of you, like a child who was finally let into the bouncing ball house, he bounces up and down inside of you and draws you further and further away from God.
So, darling, if you are taking a break right now. Enough is enough, COME BACK TO GOD. Break lose from those friends and whatever in the world that is holding you down.You do not belong to the world; God is patiently waiting for you. Return to him while he still has his arms open, for a time will come when it will be too late. And darling, if you are considering taking a break, DON’T TRY IT. I understand you might be getting weary and tired. Sweetie, it’s all part of the devil’s plan to get you to leave that circle and move outside of God’s arms. Don’t fall for that temptation.
Like the analog my pastor gave the other Sunday, a fisherman keeps throws the hook into the river and baits the fish. At first the fish doesn’t follow but eventually, the fish follows it and the next place he finds himself, is in a frying pan. So, right now the devil might be baiting you, enticing you, don’t give in. If you leave that circle of God’s protection, you will find yourself in a human size frying pan, and if you don’t fight off that pan quickly and get back into God’s circle, it’s sad, but you will die (Hell). The devil will fry you slowly in your own oil while he deceives you. You will be dying slowly in the world, but he’ll tell you that you are having fun. Don’t be a foolish fish. Come back to your senses and stay with God. If you are weary, get on your knees and pray to God for strength. Ask God to restore the joy of his salvation into your life. Do not let your love for God wax cold. KEEP IT BURNING BABY😉 NO BREAKS ALLOWED🙅🚫 STAY GLUED TO GOD.
Food for thoughts: Here’s a question I have been asking myself lately, “Esther do you love God as much as you claim?” And I was surprised at the answers I found, and that is a post for another day. I know for sure that God loves me, but do I love God? I challenge you to ask yourself that question too. Do you love God? Search/examine the depth of your heart and while you search keep this Bible verse in mind, “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome – 1 John 5:3 (NLT).” If you truly love God, then his commands won’t seem grievous/burdensome, you will willingly obey and follow and vice versa. If we truly love God, we won’t want a break from him. How do you take a break from someone you love so much? You literally want to spend every minute with them.
When a couple starts to think or talk about taking a break from one another, except it is mutual and for a good cause, then it means the relationship is heading for a stop, and the love between them is waxing cold. The truth is there is NEVER going to be a good or mutual reason to stay away or take a break from God. So, there’s only one thing to consider when you start thinking about taking a break from God. Did my love for God wax cold? Do I find God and his commands burdensome?
Think about it! Pray about it! Get your heart right!
Eternally Loved❤️
Esther Ademiju
Growing God's Eternal Family 