My biggest fear isn't waking up one day and deciding to walk away from Jesus.
I don't think that's how it happens. I think the greater danger is something much quieter.
Much slower. We drift. Not because we stop loving Him. But because life gets busy. Our calendar fills up. The phone never stops buzzing. Work gets busy. Ministry gets busy. Laundry piles up. The to do list gets longer.
And somewhere in the middle of trying to do everything We stop sitting at His feet.
We don't do it on purpose. Just little by little. It's like swimming in the ocean, between the push and pull we get caught up and when you look back to the shore you've drifted further than you realized.
In 2 Kings 14–15 we see King after king, and we keep reading the same words. "He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight...but..."
That little word just wouldn't leave me alone.
But.
He obeyed...But.
The high places remained. At first, I thought this devotion was going to be about the high places. I was ready to write about idols and compromise. But the longer I thought about these chapters, the more I realized the high places weren't really the beginning of the problem. They were the evidence of it.
The real problem started long before that.
Somewhere along the way, their hearts drifted. Because nobody wakes up one morning and decides to worship idols. Nobody wakes up planning to compromise. It happens one small decision at a time. One excuse at a time. One missed moment with Jesus at a time.
Until what once would have bothered us just becomes normal.
That should scare us me a little. It does me. I've learned something about myself. I don't usually run from God, I just get easily distracted. I love studying His Word. I love writing these devotions. I love dreaming about Ark of Hope. I love creating. I love building. But if I'm not careful I can become so busy doing things for God that I forget to just be with him.
I don't want to become so focused on ministry that I slowly lose the wonder of His presence. I don't want to become more familiar with sermons than I am with His voice.
I don't want to know more about Him and start spending less time with Him.
That's drift.
It's not an all out crazy rebellion. Just a slow movement away from the One I love most.
I've watched God heal too much in my life to let that happen. I've watched Him restore places in my heart I thought would always stay broken. I've watched Him call me into things I never imagined. I've watched Him meet me in quiet moments, in tears, and even in a dark Alabama lake when He asked me to leave my fear in the water.
He's been too faithful For me to settle now.
My prayer isn't, "Lord, make my ministry bigger." Or, "Lord, open more doors." It's Lord, don't let me drift.
If there's a high place in our hearts I pray he shows us. If there's something competing for our affection, let him remove it. If we've become distracted, Lord, Call us back to you.
When people remember my life, I don't want my legacy to be the things I built. I want it to be that I stayed close to Jesus.
"Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, but not like his ancestor David." 2 Kings 14:3 (NLT)
The greatest danger isn't always falling away. Sometimes it's slowly drifting from the One who has never drifted from us.
Love Pastor Mandy
MandiesDandies / Ark of Hope
Daily reading 2 Kings 14-15
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