…Indeed, satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you… when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren. – Luke 22:31-32
REFERENCE
Luke 22:31-33
This is a message of hope to every backslider (any believer who has become cold about the things of God, i.e. lost the desire to seek God), that God never gives up on them, neither does He write them off. The future He desires for every backslider is a return to the Lord; that no matter what allures of life draw them away from God, that there still will be embers of faith within them to be fanned into a consuming fire.
The purpose ultimately is for the restored backslider to become a strengthener of the Brethren – meaning that he ought to be more passionate than his previous converted state and on fire for God, seeing that, “he who is forgiven much loves much,” and he who has something lost restored to him, values it better than at first.
God desires that such a person will use his experience or ‘failure’ to exhort or warn others of the dangers of such an action, thereby becoming a great asset in the kingdom, and using what the devil meant to destroy him as a tool for evangelism. This will be his reasonable and acceptable service unto the Lord.
Use your experiences as a tool to WITNESS grace to others this WEDNESDAY!
ADDITIONAL STUDY
Luke 7:36-48, 1 Thessalonians 5:11 and Luke 15:17-24.
CALL TO ACTION
If you have found yourself in a backslidden state, wisdom demands that like the prodigal son, you begin to retrace your steps back from where you have fallen, God’s arms are always open to welcome you back!
