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By Myrtle Virginia Thompson

Raise your hand. Everyone has lost something. Sometimes, it didn’t matter too much. At other times, it was something special that could not be recovered or replaced, like my husband’s grandfather’s gold watch. It had been accidentally thrown away, consigned to the trash because it was hidden deep down inside a box with other gifts to commemorate the birth of our first grandchild. No amount of distress or weeping could get it back.

Losses like that bring sadness, but there is something greater that should bring tears with the sadness. Let’s stop right here. The thing we have lost which is of the greatest value is the fear of God here in our own country. We think He is too loving to judge our waywardness. so we let slip from us any faith and desire for Him to rule our corporate and personal lives. We have done so well on our own we missed or forgot it was God Who has blessed us. We were pressured by things more important to us than God and somewhere down the road we ran ahead with our plans and left Him behind.

The prime example of that is from the Bible. Israel was settled in their land, but having everything they wanted resulted in their becoming idolatrous. It was as though God said, “Have it your way,” but without Him they lost their way. Judah saw the problem and under the good king Josiah repented. All went well for a while until Judah lost the fear of God and were also put out of their land.

There are only two who rule this world, God and the one Paul calls “the prince of the power of the air.” John calls him the “dragon.” We allow one of these rulers to share our lifestyle. We took a side trip on the wrong track and lost sight of God Who so often worked on our behalf to save us from the pitfalls. It amounted to rejection of Him.

The result of losing sight of the Creator God has brought on a state of confusion. The wise Solomon wrote of a way that seemed right, but the end led to death. He also said there was a generation that understood themselves to be pure in their own eyes. (Proverbs 14, 16.) Agar has a sharp rebuke in chapter 30. We have a problem today knowing whom to believe because we have forgotten the One called “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Jesus promised God’s Spirit would lead us into all truth, but we forgot to seek truth from the Bible.

We need to turn back to God while there is opportunity, to ask His forgiveness while there is time, to ask His help so we can live in freedom with the promise of eternity with Him. Not having that will be eternal loss. Promises made at an altar in the past are often promises broken.

Now is the time to restore our faith in the God Who created this world and is still in control but allowing us freedom to make choices, but every choice has a consequence. Any other freedom we have had is like the ice in a glass, melting away while we drink the contents.

God is for real. He accepts the prayers of those who ask for His forgiveness. The omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God hears our prayers. Start by praying, then look for His ways instead of our own.

Myrtle V. Thompson is a retired educator, missionary, Bible teacher and writer. Email her at mvtgrt@gmail.com.