Saturday, January 20, 2018

No Man's Land

A soldier in No Man's Land - World War I
You can see them wandering aimlessly, not really knowing which was to go. "Should I go forward?" they ask. "Or should I go back the way I came?"  And that's the problem. They're lost. And guess what. So are we.

When I first became a believer in Jesus - I mean a REAL believer - I was blessed to have someone in my life to "show me the ropes." I had someone to teach me and help me grow in my faith. Pity the one who falls down and has no one to pick them up (Ecclesiastes 4:10).

I have seen WAY too many youth group kids pray that magical sinner's prayer and then fall by the wayside later on because they didn't know what they should do with their new-found faith. They were left to die in a spiritual no-man's-land. But the question of the day is, are we actually right there with them? Have WE faded away?

When we place our faith in Christ we actually become a changed person. We're still the same person we always were but our heart gets changed. Our soul changes. Then slowly, yet deliberately, the rest of us begins to change. But that first initial "fire" can diminish.

We suddenly find ourselves with one foot in "the world" (the secular world) and the other foot in God's world (the truth). We quite honestly don't know which world we should choose. If left alone most us us would go back to the world we once knew. After all, we were comfortable there. Why not go back?

But that is precisely where we cannot go. You see, that's where death is.

One day we all will find ourselves with one foot in the boat and the other on the dock. As the boat and the dock slowly drift apart it won't be long before we must make a choice. God wants us to choose life. But if there is no one there to help us guide us, how CAN we?

Should you ever find yourself in that position, caught betwixt and between, cry out to God for help. Reach out to someone you trust. Don't try to make it on your own. You will become totally lost or worse. But if we call out for help God is faithful and He is mighty to save.

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." - Zephaniah 3:17

As soon as we find ourselves in the darkness, we must reach out for the light. God wishes that none would perish (2 Peter 3:9), but He knows that many will because they are too prideful to cry out. They are in no man's land.

Don't be afraid to call for help. God always hears us and, if we believe in Him, He has promised never to leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). What an amazing promise! What an amazing King!

15“If you love me, keep my commands. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” - John 14:15-21

The Ballad of Bill Hubbard - Roger Waters
Mighty To Save - Hillsong United

No comments:

Post a Comment