It's surprising how God's people awaken one day and suddenly realize they have fallen away from the closeness they used to enjoy with the Lord. The signs have been there all along, but they were not paying attention.
Here are some tests I have discovered for spotting signs of slippage in my own walk with the Lord, evidence that I'm losing the intimacy with Him that always meant so much in my personal life.
10. You know you're slipping when the big thing you look forward to on a Sunday is a football game.
9. You know you're slipping when reading the Bible no longer excites you, angers you, or challenges you.
8. You know you're slipping when you finally get up off the couch and get involved in some ministry the Lord has been laying on your heart and the first thing you do is start criticizing all the other couch potatoes who are only doing the same thing you have been doing all this time.
7. You know you're slipping when, after slacking off in your tithing over the past year, instead of feeling guilty, you find yourself criticizing the regular tithers for their self-righteous and legalistic attitudes.
6. You know you're slipping when you can read the Ten Commandments and give yourself a passing grade on all of them.
5. You know you're slipping when you can go a whole day without praying and it not bother you one bit.
4. You know you're slipping when you can have a dirty thought and justify it as "what normal humans do."
3. You know you're slipping when you feel a nudging from the Holy Spirit to speak to that person or give to this one or make a phone call to another and you squelch it.
2. You know you're slipping when you decide to reward yourself for doing well by skipping your Bible reading and prayer for that day.
1. You know you're really, really slipping when the problem of slipping doesn't cause you great concern.
(Feel free to take a moment to respond below and share ways you've noticed when you are slipping from your faithfulness).
Dr. Joe McKeever is a Preacher, Cartoonist, and the Director of Missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. Visit him at joemckeever.com/mt. Used with permission.
