What to do When We Fall Out of Step with God

Posted on Jun 13, 2019 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Jen Babakhan

I was certain I needed a root canal. The pain in my tooth was intense, and every time I bit down, it radiated through my jaw. I made an appointment with our family dentist, feeling confident in what he would say: “Schedule an appointment with the endodontist, that tooth is a goner.”

I sat in his chair, nervous as I always am when there, and waited for the verdict. “Your jaw is out of alignment, which is impacting your bite. At some point it dislocated and didn’t slide back into place correctly. Now your bite is off, which is why your tooth is so sore,” he told me while his gloved hand still held an explorer in my mouth. He prescribed a deep tissue massage that would realign my jaw slowly—and though I was skeptical—it worked. The pain left my tooth, and no root canal was needed.

I struggled to remember when it could have been that my jaw began to shift out of place—how did I not notice such a thing? It wasn’t until the pain began that I paid any attention, and even then I never associated my tooth pain with the bone that held it in place.

I think we often experience the same spiritually. Don’t we also find ourselves slowly shifting further and further away from the Lord until the distance is too painful to ignore any longer?

Life gets busy, and often the first thing to go is time spent with God. We try and make up for it with a quick prayer offered up on the way to our kids’ soccer practice. Jesus gets it—He knows we’re busy, right? What we fail to realize is that this slow drift away from the Father has impacts on our lives that may not materialize immediately, but will eventually.

How we spend our time communicates our values—especially to our children. When they see us spending time in His Word, they witness the importance of time spent with God. James 4:8 says to come near to God, and He will come near to you. The promise of this verse is a priceless gift. When we make an effort to realign ourselves with Him, He will be there.

When we don’t notice that we’ve drifted away, that our walk has shifted in the wrong direction, He does—and He’s faithfully waiting and willing to put us back on the path we were meant to go. We can turn back to Him before there is pain. May we walk with Him so closely that the slightest change in our stride is noticed.

Father, help us to know when we have chosen what is convenient instead of what is best. Alert us to the slow drifting away from you that so many of us experience. Guide our priorities so that we place such value on time with you that others in our lives take notice. Lord, when we begin to wander from the path next to you, please draw us gently back into alignment with you and your word. Teach us to walk with you in the chaos of life. Thank you for your faithfulness to draw near to us when we draw near to you. Amen.