We talked about the “sower story.” There’s a Farmer who has been sowing the seeds of the kingdom. But when these seeds are cast out, how much fruit we get back actually depends on the soil. You see, there’s a response that we must have. In one sense, it all depends on God; but in another sense, there’s a responsibility he’s given us. It’s in this partnership between the seed and the soil that the fruit is yielded. The path, the rocks, the weeds are all responses to the seed that end in a fruitless existence (Matthew 13:18-23).
So someone recently asked me why a friend isn’t coming anymore. Perhaps, they’ve found a better church, but what I see more of is people walking away from their faith. The question: why? Why do people leave? Why do people walk away? Why do people stop? Why do we lose heart?
Typically, there may not be one single reason, but I have often witnessed a combination of these factors:
- It’s physical; how we invest our time and energy matters.
- It’s emotional; failing to deal with the hurts, fears, disappointments, shame, and guilt within will lead us away.
- It’s spiritual; there’s an enemy seeking to steal the seed away.
- We are interconnected beings. We have to assess the possibilities from all sides It’s outside us and it’s inside us. We have to look at the varying factors of what a person has gone through and what they’re going through.
Certain factors, may result in any combination of these sensations of distance and dissonance:
- Some people feel far from God and walk away. Although, God doesn’t move; He’s the same always; there still may be seasons where we experience a sense of abandon or emptiness.
- Some people feel far from people and walk away. People change. We change. There’s drift. Perhaps, we’re dealing with hurt from someone or we’re in conflict.
- Some people feel far from purpose and walk away. Sometimes, we lost sight of our purpose. Sometimes, we get distracted. Sometimes, we allow past failures to dictate current postures.
Then, we stop.
- We stop seeking God on our own. We stop feeding ourselves.
- We stop pursuing genuine, deep community. We stop caring for others.
- We stop living by vision. We stop being on God’s mission.
Ultimately, we try to fill the void with something or someone else.
What’s the solution? How do we stop this?
No one comes to the Father unless the Son first draws him. I just had a conversation with someone who said in the previous week they felt suicidal and were planning on leaving the church. They decided night clubs would be the medication of choice.
Normally, I go into “Messiah Mode” at this point figuring out how I can convince and persuade this person. Instead, I sensed Jesus leading me to pray for him. I reached out to God and asked Him to do something no human being is single-handedly capable of.
I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but my friend showed up in church the following Sunday. He sang out and worshiped God (even though he may not have felt like it). He asked us to pray for him as he showed us the scars from self-mutilation earlier in the week. He opened himself up and bravely shared the hurt he’s going through. As prayer concluded, he said he felt much lighter and although he knew he would be facing difficulty when he returned home, he knew where he could turn to (God).
I sense there are many others out there like this. You’re struggling with immeasurable pain and torment. God has something greater for you! Hang on. Hold on. Don’t stop. Don’t walk away. Press in. Lean in. Fight the good fight.
Let God change the soil. Let His Word comfort, protect, guide, transform. Find people who love deeply and hold you accountable (helping you to “account-for-your-ability”). Begin serving (God releases His Spirit when there’s a need. You’ll begin to find that when you serve in the Anointing of God, you’re are simultaneously filled up). Ask God for vision, because those who ask receive (Matthew 7:7).
Chris O'Dell 