NO GOING BACK: Patterns of Drift

Dear believer, be watchful...

‎We have just finished a 40-day prayer and Fasting.

40 days of consistently listening to the Lord and shutting out distractions, 40 days of intentionally keeping to the structures of prayer, 40 days of showing up to read chapters of the Bible, 40 days of consecration, 40 days of journeying with God. A season of pruning, refining, reinforcing, transformation and strengthening in your mind and Spirit!

‎One important thing, however, that must be pointed out is a particular pattern that is seen consistently in times like this. After such a powerful season, when one comes out genuinely changed, there's a tendency to, almost without notice, begin to ease back into what they were before. ‎‎This pattern in and of itself is one we see clearly in scriptures.‎

Matthew 26:41

‎New King James Version

‎41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Hours before this, Peter, James and John had been at the Last Supper with Jesus. They had heard His most intimate words, shared the bread and the cup with Him, and they even sang a hymn together on their way out into the night. These were not distant followers; these were the inner circle, men who had walked closely with Him, who had every reason to believe they were ready for whatever came next.

‎Matthew 26:36

‎New King James Version

‎36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”

‎Here, they are at Gethsemane, and Jesus asks them to stay awake, keep watch, and pray with Him in what would be His most painful hour. And three times, He comes back to find them sleeping.

‎Notice what happened here. It wasn't a lack of love. It wasn't indifference, nor was it because they didn't care. These were the same men who, hours earlier, had been fully present, fully engaged, eaten with him, spoken with him, sang with him. But the moment the structure of the evening fell away, the moment the meal ended, the singing stopped, and they were simply asked to sit and watch in the quiet, their flesh asserted itself. Their eyes grew heavy. Their bodies gave out.

This is an exact pattern. It is a quiet drift that happens the moment the framework holding you up is no longer there. This is what happened with the disciples when they simply, without noticing, eased into what the flesh wanted the moment the structure lifted.

‎Exodus 15:22-24

‎New King James Version

‎22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

‎23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

‎24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

‎The Children of Israel had just experienced the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea a few days before this, and after such a powerful thing that happened, they were still complaining about bitter water.

‎Think about what they had witnessed. Water had stood up like walls on either side of them. An entire army that had held them in bondage for over 400 years was swallowed up before their very eyes. They had sung and danced on the shore. Miriam the prophetess led them in singing; the whole nation was shouting the praises of God for what He had just done. They had just experienced one of the greatest displays of God's power any generation had ever seen. And yet, days later, that same praise turned to complaint the moment they were thirsty.

In reading this passage, you might probably be wondering how the Children of Israel had this sort of disposition. How did they suddenly become ungrateful, and how couldn't they see that the devil was working overtime? But it is very possible for you to do this same thing.

There's a tendency to overcompensate after seasons like this; just because you’ve spent time reading 4-5 chapters of the Bible and praying as much as possible, you might want to skip a day or two and say, ‘I would pray tomorrow’ or ‘I’ve been reading 4-5 chapters per day, let me rest a bit ’, and slowly but surely, you would see that the drift begins to occur. It is not something that happens in a day or immediately, and it's not something that would be very obvious. You must understand that the devil is very cunning, and his plan is to give you many excuses and reasons that seem natural and valid, to the end that you would slip back into the patterns of old. You begin to pray less, read your Bible less till you don't anymore and much more.

The devil's plan is to manipulate the normal, and this is why, as a believer, you must be very conscious. It is especially in times and seasons like this that temptations are heightened.

Dear believer, you need to be watchful; you must be sensitive, be conscious, don't be distracted, because it is possible for you to drift after such a powerful season as this.