Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give
glory to the LORD, the God of
Achan gave the devil his greed and the devil used it. He dove down too deep one day into the things of the world and it cost him his life.
That brings us to the floaters. We all like to float from
time to time. We all like to rest upon what we have already done. Floating
takes no initiative, no real effort, and as such there is no real progress. We
kind of drift this way and that, allowing the things in our lives to dictate
where our walk goes. Maybe we tithe occasionally, read the Bible occasionally
or pray occasionally but it all adds up to a part time relationship with God. Well,
Jesus does not casually date. Christianity requires a full time commitment.
Read the Old Testament and you will see
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. Romans 1: 25
And so it can still go for us today as well. We can set up our own idols things that we place ahead of God. Maybe our career has become an idol. Maybe our relationship. Maybe our inflated sense of self. We can just float through our Christianity. Letting the current take us where it will. Because when we float, there is no effort on our part.
But Christianity requires something from us. We are not meant to be passive observers in our own salvation. God always has another level for us to climb to but it requires the climbing. So often we can get to the plateau God is leading us to and simply sit down. We can become satisfied and complacent. Nothing aids the work of the enemy more than a complacent Christian. The satisfied Christian is satisfied with their own walk. They think they have arrived. They have read the Bible and know the Scripture. They have done the prayer lines and healing services. Their spirit becomes unteachable. They start to think that their salvation has already been all worked out. But the Bible teaches us differently:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, - Philippians 2: 12
We need to continue to work out our salvation. There is always more to be done for the kingdom of God. There is always a next level the Lord has for you. The question is whether we are striving towards that next level or whether we are floating along, going whichever way the wind blows. Samson was a floater.
Blessed by God with enormous strength, Samson would slay a thousand Philistines with nothing more than a fresh donkey jawbone. He tore a lion apart with his bare hands. He led Israel for 20 years but at some point Samson must have felt like he had arrived. He had a weakness for lust and Delilah became his undoing. He started floating and allowed the current of his infatuation lead him down the path of destruction. Three times Delilah tried to get Samson to reveal the secret of his strength so the Philistines could capture him. Three times Samson saw that Delilah was trying to betray him. Nevertheless, he continued floating down this path. He gave the enemy his lust and the enemy continued to use it against him. The fourth time Samson told Delilah the truth and after they cut off his hair, we see that Samson had floated for too long and into waters that were too deep:
