I am reading a little booklet by Jerry Benjamin titled What is the First Indication of Turning Away From God? What is the first indication of turning away from God? It is murmuring. Mr. Benjamin reminds us, “God created us in His image – with a mind to know Him, a heart to love Him, and a will to obey Him – in order that we might enjoy a living, personal relationship with Him. Hence, the Christian life is not a lifestyle, but fellowship with a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Murmuring deteriorates that fellowship. Worry, which is a form of murmuring, corrodes that fellowship.
Often worry and complaints become such a part of our lives that we don’t even realize the affect they are having on our precious relationship with our Lord and Saviour. We must consciously look this sin in the face and call it what it is, sin. The remedy doesn’t consist of refusing to complain or argue or even of resisting worry. The remedy consists of what Mr. Benjamin’s title infers, turning to God. I think of Peter walking on the water. As long as his attention was on Jesus, he walked on the water. The minute his attention turned to the waves around him, he began to sink. Our attention must be drawn to the Lord. He must be our all in all.
We must focus, not on what we know, but on Who we know. Hebrews 12:1-3 instructs us to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Look unto Jesus. Consider Him. With our eyes on Him, we are able to run with endurance and to resist becoming weary and discouraged. Focusing on His presence gives us strength and inspires us in the way we should go.
Our enthusiasm must be, not for what we know, but for Who we know. We must cry out as the Psalmist does in Psalm 34:1-3. “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” Our zeal and praise for the Lord should be evident to all around us. We should praise His name at all times and boast of all He has done in our lives. We should bless Him for His constant faithfulness. We can be enthusiastic about the Lord because He is faithful and He sustains us daily. He hears us and He delivers us. He redeems us. Who has a loving Lord like we have? Let us eagerly praise His holy name!
Our passion should be, not to know more, but to know Him more. This is the type of ardent affection that the Psalmist proclaims in Psalm 42:1-2. “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” Our very soul should thirst for God, to know Him deeper, to experience Him more fully. We should not be content to know more about Him, but we should pant to know Him. We should long for Him and cry out for a fuller understanding of His ways.
I do not always live my life focussed on the Lord, full of enthusiasm and passion for Him. I, like Peter, often focus my attention on the waves. But I do long to have that intimate fellowship with Him that He intends for me. I desire to know Him, to love Him, and to obey Him. I yearn to focus on Him and to be enthusiastic and passionate about my relationship with Him. And He is faithful. As I learn to be thankful and as I learn to trust in Him more fully, He will fill me with the rich joy of intimate fellowship with Him, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. What an awesome thought!
I have not yet finished this little booklet by Jerry Benjamin from his Little Nuggets Series, but what I have read is definitely a “selection of gems of truth and rich insights from Scripture” and I highly recommend it.
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