It Could Happen
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” - (Proverbs 16:18)
The Christian life is a life of constant growth and transformation in which we are becoming more like Jesus. And the moment we fail to go forward spiritually is the moment we potentially begin to backslide. In fact, the word “backsliding” is used a number of times in the Bible.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told the wayward nation of Israel, “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings” (Jeremiah 3:22).
The Bible also tells us that one of the signs of the end times, of the last days, is that people will fall away from the faith. No one has ever backslidden overnight. You don’t call up your Christian friend and say, “Hey, you want to backslide tonight?” No. Backsliding is a series of steps that always lead a person downhill.
We all have the potential to do it. As the old hymn, “Come Thou Fount,” says,
Prone to wander—Lord I feel it—
Prone to leave the One I love;
Here’s my heart—O take and seal it,
Seal it for They courts above.
Just as sheep have a tendency to go astray, we do, too. So we have to constantly keep up our guard. We have to constantly be moving forward spiritually.
The first step down in any backslide is self-confidence and pride. The Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
For example, maybe you are playing a game of tennis, and you are beating your opponent. Then maybe you get a little cocky, a little self-assured. And suddenly you start losing. It happens in all things in life. And it certainly happens in the spiritual life.
So here is what we need to know about ourselves: We always can fall. Don’t ever think it couldn’t happen to you. Because it could.
Summary sentence: Backsliding never happens over night!
Tags: sheep, backslidden, self-confidence
Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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