Three Hindrances to Your Walk with God

The greatest privilege we have in this life - and indeed for all eternity - is to have a relationship with our Creator.  There is absolutely nothing more important and nothing more essential to our lives than this one thing.  Jesus said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)  Walking with God is the single-most important thing that any of us can do with our lives.

All throughout the book of Genesis, there are given genealogies of the early generations of people who inhabited the earth.  As you read through these lists of names, most of them come without anything of significance being attached to them.  But, when there is a break in the list, it is usually because of one significant thing that stood out. See if you notice it.

"And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD." (Genesis 4:26)

"And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch...And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."  (Genesis 5:22, 24)

"These are the generations of Noah; Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God."

Hundreds of individuals were mentioned in Scripture without any significance other than that they lived, had children and died. But, the ones who stood out were the ones who had a relationship with God - those who walked with God.

Enjoying a relationship with your Creator is the most valuable and significant thing you can attain in this life.  Augustine once prayed, "Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts can have no rest until they rest in Thee." Without this relationship with God, we will be lost in life.  There can be no peace in life apart from the Prince of peace.  There can be no joy in life apart from the One who imparts to us joy unspeakable and full of glory.  There will be no direction to our lives apart from the One who is our guide.

Seeing the great importance of this matter, it is imperative that we place a priority on our walk with God.  It has been said, "The man who walks with God always reaches his destination."  We each want to get where we are supposed to go in life.  The only way that we can be certain that we will get to where God is leading us to go is when we allow for our way in life to be directly daily by our walk with the Lord. As the Scripture says, "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:5)

If we are going to make our walk with God a priority then, one thing it would be wise for us to do is to identify the things in our life that often hinder our time and focus on the Lord. So, in the following words, I want to share with you three hindrances to a walk with God.

Busyness

Living on mission for Jesus, as many of you have come to discover, is an extremely rewarding endeavor.  There is nothing more significant that a person can do with their lives than giving their life to lead others to know the Lord and deepen their relationship with the Lord.  Yet, the ministry can also be very busy.  Herein lies the first evidence of a hinderance to our walk with God:  when you allow yourself to become so busy doing good things for God that you begin to neglect your relationship with God.

Perhaps the greatest example of someone who was guilty of neglecting her walk with God because of this matter of busyness was a woman named Martha.  Here is what the Bible tells us about her story.

"Now it came to pass, as they went, that [Jesus] entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.  But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken way from her." (Luke 10:38-42)

Martha had gotten so busy in the service of the Lord that she had forgotten the Lord.  Worse yet, she was upset with Mary for taking time to worship the Lord and sit at His feet.  "Dishes need washing!  Rooms need cleaned up!" and many other such things were on the forefront of Martha's mind, but never did it enter into her thoughts the great opportunity she had to lay all of these other things aside and sit at Jesus' feet.  Jesus simply told her, "One thing is needful."

The work of the ministry will always be there.  (I have been in ministry for over a decade now and never once have I been able to go home having done everything that needed to be done!)  So, we must learn to take time away from all the things that need to be done to spend time with Jesus.  To just dive into the responsibilities of each day without the power and presence of God is spiritual suicide.  We cannot live for God in our own power; we need God!  Therefore, we must daily seek to maintain our personal walk with Him.

Drivenness

Some of us have something within us that, in some ways, can be a very positive thing; but when it comes to our walk with God it can often be a hindrance. What I am speaking of is drivenness.  Drivenness is defined as "being under compulsion, as to succeed or excel."  When it comes to getting things done, drivenness is an indispensable quality.  Many people never get much accomplished in their work fields because they have no drive to do so.  Yet, while drivenness can be a positive attribute when it comes to your work, it can be detrimental to your walk with God.

To be honest, this is something I so often struggle with.  I am a driven person.  Sometimes, because I am so driven to lead our church, I have found myself waking up and rushing right into the day getting things done, crossing things off my list, dealing with problems and coming up with ideas, only to come to the end of the day and realize that I have had no consciousness of God - I have neglected Him along the way.

When drivenness brings you to the place of godlessness, that is when it has become wrong.

Perhaps one of the best examples in the Scripture of how drivenness can hinder your walk with the Lord is found in the story of Saul.

"And [Saul] tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.  And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt-offering to me, and peace-offerings.  And he offered the burnt-offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him that he might salute him." (1 Samuel 13:8-10)

Saul just couldn't wait.  He had an army to lead.  He had the Philistines to deal with.  He did not have any more time to wait for the man of God to make up his mind to come.  So, he took matters into his own hands.  The Bible goes on to tell us what happened next.

"And Samuel said, What hast thou done?...Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee:  for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee." (1 Samuel 13:11, 13-14)

Saul, in his zeal to do everything that he wanted to do for the Lord, got his focus off the Lord.  Unfortunately, this practice became a pattern that was carried out many times in his life.  Eventually, it led to his own ruin.

Driven people have the tendency to do for the Lord without seeking the Lord.  As the Bible says in Romans 10:2, it could be said they have "a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge."  But, this is precisely the opposite of how the Christian life is supposed to work.  Our drivenness is not supposed to come from our own understanding of how to get God's work done, but it is to come from walking with God and allowing Him to guide us and motivate us to accomplish His will.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Be careful about becoming so driven to be successful that you neglect the very thing that God has promised will bring you true success. (Joshua 1:8)  Let your desire to do what God has called you to do drive you to your knees in dependance upon Him.  Only in so doing can you truly ever be successful in the long haul.

Laziness

The final hindrance to a walk with God is one that is very difficult to deal with - laziness.  Laziness can be defined as "the quality of being unwilling to work or to use energy."  To put it into another single word, laziness is simply idleness.  And, for some of us, it is something that we really struggle with (even if you don't realize it).

It has been said, "Idleness is the devil's workshop."  This is something that I have found to be true.  The devil can do more with an individual who is idle than just about anyone else.  The Bible teaches us that a lazy or an idle person is someone who is reluctant to use their energy to do what they don't "have" to do.

"A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again." (Proverbs 19:24)

Laziness manifests itself in many ways.  Oftentimes, a lazy person is still a very functional person. They can get to their job and do what they are supposed to do on a public scale, but it is in their own homes and in their personal lives that the reality of their laziness is most evident.

"I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down." (Proverbs 24:30-31)

Let me pause here to say, if your public work is all together, but you are neglecting your home and personal life, you are a hypocrite.  The Bible goes so far as to say that, if such is your status, you are worse than a person who outright rejects the faith!  "But if any provide not for own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." (I Timothy 5:8)

In our American society today, one of the most dangerous contributors to laziness is a desire for amusement.  We spend absorbent amounts of time watching television, staring at our phones, playing games or pursuing personal hobbies.  While none of these things are wrong in and of themselves, when they become significant consumers of our time, they become major contributors to a lifestyle of laziness.

Sadly, one of the sister attributes to laziness is wastefulness.  A lazy person will be a wasteful person.  They will waste their time, money, influence and opportunities.  Most devastatingly, they will waste their relationship with the Lord.

"He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster." (Proverbs 18:9)

If you don't have enough energy to walk with God, then there is something majorly out of order in your life.  By the way, when Jesus returns, I don't think it will be a very valid excuse to tell Him, "Lord, I just didn't have enough energy to spend time with You."  You would be much better off to expend less energy on other things than to neglect God and His priorities for your life.  Dr. Paul Chappell once said, "Laziness is the scourge of the ministry." May God deliver us from it!

Nothing Between

As you move on from these thoughts, do not forget the great importance of your walk with the Lord.  It is only in walking with God that you can truly be successful in life.  It is only in walking with the Lord that you can grow in your faith and lead others to grow in their faith.  It is only in walking with the Lord that you can maintain a right position and disposition in ministry.

Are you allowing anything to hinder your walk with God?

The story was told by a missionary about early African converts to Christianity. They were earnest and regular in private devotions with the Lord.  Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour his heart to God.  Over time, the paths to these places became well worn.  As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect his time with God, it was soon apparent to others.  So, the other brothers would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."

Would you have to admit today that the grass is growing on the path that leads to your time with God?  Is there dust collecting on your Bible today?  If so, it is time to get the hindrances out of the way so that there is nothing between God and you.  It is time to get back to your daily walk with God.