It Can Be like Hell Getting Back Home

Getting back home, or back on track, can be a major challenge. Astronauts are truly aware of this. On earth, they are in the comforts of home, but then they get in the shuttle and go wondering out into space, where it is amazing they do not get completely lost. When they finally set their eyes on returning, the journey is intense and dangerous as their craft endures tremendous heat as it re-enters the atmosphere. This same heat is what burns up particles and gives us the appearance of falling stars. Yet, when the shuttle wheels touch ground, the cosmos explorers inside know the perseverance and the trials endured were worth it, as they can once again exclaim, "Home sweet home!"

For a Christian who wonders off from God, the return trip can be just as difficult, and unfortunately for some, they never complete it. I can testify to this as I am attempting what I feel is a comeback after an extended period of backsliding. Just like stopping your exercise and proper dieting will lead to a stop in physical fitness gains, my actions had froze my spiritual growth and my journey of getting closer to Him. Matthew 7:13-14 shows how easy it is to get on that broad freeway to destruction and how difficult it is to be on the narrow trail that leads to life. It is easy to fall off that trail as I believe I have found out. As for recovery, it can get more difficult the longer you wait. I feel I have reached out to God, just to get slammed again and again with the obstacles I have inherited in my free fall. Yet just like the astronauts on their way back, I'll just have to take the trials and keep persevering.

The awesome thing about God is He is ready for us to come back. He is a loving Father Who lets us have the freedom to come and go, yet just as the father of the returned prodigal son celebrated in Luke 15, God enjoys seeing us back in the game. Romans 8: 38-39 points out that nothing can separate us from the love of God, meaning He is there for us whether we are in tune with Him or completely lost in the dark. Yet, because of the freedom He provides, when we are off the track, it is up to us make the initial effort to get back on. And this can prove to be challenging with the weight of new bad habits, or other messes we have gotten ourselves into while being away from Him. Yet the Lord provides encouraging words in Hebrews 12:1 when He calls for us to throw off the entangling stuff and run with perseverance the race He has set for us. This is not to say we can escape everything we got ourselves involved in during our absence, but as the next verse in this chapter says, we need to focus our eyes on Jesus, meaning to have that faith in Him again. Faith can lead mountains to be moved, and the huge obstacles we allowed ourselves to embrace can most likely get moved as well when we put our focus back on the right spot.

A good starting point on the trip back home is to pray, and be persistent in prayer. I am not getting all my requests granted yet, but a part of persevering is being persistent. Reading the Scriptures and having that devotion time with Him again is another giant step back in the right direction. Getting back in tune with your fellow believers and having fellowship with them again is a real strengthening process. As I continue my journey back, I encourage you in yours. Keep going, focus on the Light, and your growth will resume. Someday, we will all hear Him welcoming us to our true home with Him in eternity.