Proverbs 4:25-27 (NLT)
“25 Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. 27 Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.”
A dear friend has been on and off again with the man in her life for several years. One moment she says she’s done with him and moving on, and within a few weeks, she’s back in a relationship with him. She said, “My heart doesn’t want to let go because of all the years we’ve invested into one another.” Her mind is so locked into this, and she won’t listen to anyone that tries to speak the Word of God to her. She is stuck in a relationship that she knows isn’t helping her grow spiritually. All the signs point to this man being more important to her than God and His Word, but she refuses to acknowledge this.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT) tells us, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” This verse tells us to evaluate whether we are genuinely on the Lord’s side. If we are, we will value our relationship with Him through Jesus Christ more than any other thing. Believers are being tricked left and right, and they are forfeiting their destinies and choosing to follow the world instead of following the Lord. Never have times been so perilous as they are in our world today. 2Peter 3:10 reminds us that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. We shouldn’t fool ourselves. We are living in the last days. Our Savior is soon to come, and we can’t ever afford to be lax about the things of God.
When we’re single and in a toxic relationship that we’re struggling to turn loose, we can develop obsessive emotions, and this becomes a spiritual issue. It can take us down a very dark path, one where we’re blinded by our own refusal to be delivered from dark spiritual oppression. Becoming obsessed with another human being is a form of idolatry, and it can lead to imprisonment by the demonic. When someone is in the grips of this, in many cases they will not listen to reason or instruction from the Word of God. They continue to try to revive something that has long been dead. God commands us to release emotions that keep us tied to old dead things, because Christ has set us free from this.
Proverbs 4:27 warns us not to get sidetracked. It’s a condition where we let other things and people become more important in our lives than God. This happens to many single women when they are in significant relationships. The couple is not bound by the covenant of marriage, and the relationship is not an emotionally healthy one. They become entangled without acknowledging and seeking God’s Will and plan for their lives. This is harmful because it defies the very reason they were placed on this earth. Our entire existences should be centered around our personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and we must be willing to follow wherever He leads.
Emotional stability and healthy relationships are born out of our commitment to the Lord. When He’s our highest priority, we become spiritually strong. 2Timothy 1:7(NLT) says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” It’s not God’s Will for us to be emotionally out of control. He has given us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline, and we should model spiritual strength for all those that we care about. We should be able to help them grow in faith and in their love for God as well. So, let’s do all that we can to strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father, and not allow ourselves to be sidetracked by anything that takes our focus away from Him. ■
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Don’t Get Sidetracked”, written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack and KLizzie for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.