God crossed my path with a man; I’ll call him John*, that was going to commit suicide. His wife was in the hospital dying, he had several young kids, no money, and no job. He had lost all hope.
He came into the Christian outreach where I helped out and wanted prayer before he ended his life. Everyone in the office gathered around him, and we prayed. God moved upon him. The presence of God was palpable. John’s heart was changed. He didn’t kill himself. He went back to his kids. Later, when we checked on him, his life had turned around, and he saw hope.
Fresh Start
God deeply desires a fresh start for anyone that has drifted away from Him. Jesus even chases after those that wander. “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?” – Matthew 18:12 (ESV emphasis added)
Jesus gives so many opportunities to those that wander. He calls for the apostate (backslider) to repent and come back. The Holy Spirit provides the wanderer with an awareness of their sin and the immediacy of deliverance.
Drifting Away
Drifting away from Jesus has always been a temptation. We even find this problem addressed in Hebrews 2:1-4 (ESV) Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Our question to anyone that has drifted away from the truth of God’s Word should be this: will you neglect so great a salvation? For us, we must never forget that fervent prayer (James 5:16) within God’s will is unstoppable.
Photo credit: a nameless yeast on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA
You may like:
https://www.rockexcavationservice.org/running-on-empty/