When You're Getting Off Course With God

By Susan Smith

This is a fresh message of hope, love, and encouragement straight from the heart of the Father. In my prayer time, the Holy Spirit instructed me to write about the need for His people to repent of anything that is pulling them away from Him and to put Him back in first place. This is both a correction, and a loving invitation to walk closer to Him than ever before. Especially now. It’s as if the Lord were saying, “Where are you going? What are you doing? Get back over here!” The Lord shared with me a few simple steps we can take to get back on course.

This is an invitation to re-evaluate the quality of our relationship with the Lord. Like a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), to see where we have opportunities to improve, to adjust, and look for anything that might be a threat to our relationship. Here are some questions to consider.

What Place Are We Giving the Lord?

Is Jesus still at the center of our life? With all the craziness going on around us, have the cares of life, the responsibilities, the demands, the busyness, the fears, the evening news stepped into center state leaving Jesus off to the side?

How Important Is Our Relationship with the Lord?

Is He still the biggest, most wonderful, most necessary, most relevant part of our life? Or has He been placed in the trunk like a spare tire to be pulled out for emergencies only?

How Much Value Do We Place on The Bible?

Do we value His written Word, and treasure it? Are we carving out protected time to read, study and enjoy the Word of God, even if that means getting a bit creative?

Are We Careful to Seek His Will:

Are we still in the practice of turning aside to God first, to and acknowledge Him in everything? Do we ask what He wants when we are making decisions?

How Regularly Are We Attending Church Service, Worship Nights, Prayer Meetings?

While apostacy is going on all over the world, and the "lukewarm at best" are exiting the churches in droves, are we still faithfully attending church (even online when necessary) as often as we can? 

Do We Know What Our God given Gifts And Talents Are?

Are we serving, helping, and finding ways to use our gifts and talents? They are yours for a reason. 

Are we faithful to give of our finances into God’s kingdom?

Of the money God blesses us with, do we return the first 10% as a tithe that belongs to the Lord? Are we willing to give offerings, within our means, as the Lord lays needs on our hearts? Supporting the Kingdom of God takes money. Moving the kingdom of God forward is not the job of those who don't believe in Him, and it is not the job of our government. It’s our privilege and responsibility to do so.

Often, the things that pull us away from the Lord aren’t bad things. Families, careers, the work of ministry, responsibilities of homes and vehicles, possessions, hobbies, interests, and desires none of these are wrong. They are all blessings that God has given us. They just must be kept in the right priority, and right order. Anything that we give ourselves to more, anything we care about more, or feel is more important than God becomes a distraction at best, or an idol in the worst case.  Any person, place or thing that has a bigger place in our hearts and lives really needs to be thought through. Ask the Lord to reveal any areas that need to be pruned, trimmed back a little, or tidied up.

In the early 80's, I attended the US Army’s Primary Leadership Development Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, not far from the Alabama state line.

One requirement of this month-long training was to complete a night ops training exercise. The night arrived. After getting up early and attending classes all day, around what should have been our bedtime, we were loaded up and driven out to the middle of the woods. Our mission was to maneuver in pitch black to locate several markers within a time limit. The marker that stands out in my memory after all this time was an empty can secured to a tree. 

We were broken into small squads of six or eight soldiers. Before starting the course that night, the cadre promptly relieved us of any light producing items on our person. There would be no flashlights, no cigarette lighters, no matches, no glow sticks, not even watches that lit up. This was before cell phones with flashlights. Anything that might have been the slightest bit helpful was confiscated. They got us on that one, we didn't see that coming. To successfully complete this part of our training, each squad was given one compass.

The squads were released in staggered intervals so we couldn’t follow another team. From there, we would need to rely on the stars to help us navigate and on the moon for light. Except it was foggy, and along with the fog was winter clouds that hindered our ability to see the moon or the north star. 

I recalled our safety briefing before we set out. One of the cadre, God bless him, gave us one important safety tip: “If you reach the Chattahoochee River, turn back, you’ve gone too far."  This important warning would give us direction. But it also gave us protection in the dark...lest anyone trip or have a misstep on the slippery  riverbank and be swept away into the fast-moving current.

It was February, and a drearily cold, damp, night in Georgia. The kind of damp cold that sucks the warmth from your bones, and we were freezing. We were on the clock and a couple of hours into our training mission. We had managed to locate many of our markers in the darkness, but we were not finished, and we were running out of our allotted time. Our squad spread out even more to cover more ground in less time. I was walking the left flank when I suddenly noticed a change in temperature and humidity. The air became even colder and damper. Just ahead and to my left, I heard the unmistakable sound of water. Moving water. Lots of it. That would be the Chattahoochee.

Without visibility, our squad had gone too far, and now we would have to backtrack. The last thing we needed. The last thing we had time for. We were off course. We had no way of knowing if our squad was the only one still out there, or if others were having trouble too. I located the guy carrying our squads' compass. Pointing toward the direction of the river, I told him what I had heard. We circled around, huddled up, and put our heads together.  After a month of training, classes, studying, tests and exams, inspections, scrubbing and polishing barracks, physical training, and everything else expected at a military leadership school, if we were going to walk across that stage and graduate, then we had to solve our issue and get back on track. Quickly. 

All we could do to finish well was re-evaluate, re-group, re-focus, re-orientate, and keep looking for a break in the clouds. Step by step by step.

We found our remaining markers and recorded them. 

We found our way back through the woods to the trucks that were waiting for us. This is when we normally would have picked on each other, and had a little fun talking smack, but it was late into the wee hours. We were shivering and tired. In the darkness of the jerking vehicle, with the heater blasting, and with the rumble of a heavy diesel motor, it was lights out. The next thing we heard someone was yelling to wake up. A few days later we all graduated. 

I share this memory from that season of my life to make a point, and to say this:

Life can be hard sometimes.

There can be a lot of things to maneuver.

There are times when it seems so dark, and the way doesn’t seem clear.

If you have gotten off course in your walk with the Lord for any reason,

If you have noticed a drop in the temperature,

If there is anything that has gotten in the way,

If the clouds, or the fog of life are blocking or diminishing the light,

If life looks the same day, after day, after day,

If somehow, you’ve just grown tired and feel depleted,

If your heart has grown cold,

If you’ve drifted off to sleep toward the things of God,

If you think you’ve lost your faith,

If somehow you feel you have wandered away from the faith,

If you’ve even abandoned the faith,

If you need to recommit your life, rededicate your life, and start afresh,

Then I share the same encouragement that helped me that night over 40 years ago:

Just STOP and take a breath. 

RE-EVALUATE.

RE-GROUP

RE-FOCUS.

RE-ORIETATE.

KEEP LOOKING UP.

AND Finish Well.

Step, by step, by step.

The Lord is watching, waiting. He holds the compass. He is cheering you on. And just like the Chattahoochee River that we could not see in the darkness, Jesus knows the things that can potentially sweep us away from Him. His correction to get rid of things that distract offers both direction and protection. And one glorious day, we will all “graduate” from this earth.

The Lord is faith to us. We are never alone. Walk close to His side in everything. He will help us get our bearings and get back on track. Just ask Him.