Coasting

Recently, in a small group leaders meeting, one of the men confessed that he often coasts in his Christian walk. Rather than gasps and tongue-clucks, most of us nodded our heads in agreement. How about you? Are you prone to coast in your Christian walk? I am certainly guilty, guilty, guilty.

You ask, what is coasting?

Coast: "to move along without or as if without further application of propulsive power... : to proceed easily without special application of effort or concern."1 To move along without further propulsive power... assuming the initial push is sufficient.

What does that look like in our Christian walk? Haphazard devotions, short or insignificant prayer times, half-hearted church participation or service, distracted by life, going through the motions, looking good on the outside but knowing on the inside there is a superficial walk at best, doing just enough to get by and look good doing it. Perhaps you take the lily pad approach, hopping from one spiritual experience to another with very little substance in between. I cannot deny that all too often, I coast. What makes us think we can maintain a vibrant, life-giving, life-sustaining, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ apart from significant, dedicated, intentional time, attention and devotion to Him?

How intentional are you about deepening your relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you regularly, daily applying fresh propulsive power? If we coast on flat ground, we immediately begin to lose momentum and eventually stop. And that is on flat ground. How about the uphill road of sanctification and holiness? If we coast, we immediately lose momentum, stop ever so briefly, right before we begin plummeting down the hill.

Let me encourage you not to push your Christian walk into the category of, "when I have time," because you never will have time. When you make it a priority, you will find time to spend with Jesus, memorize Scripture, meditate on the Word, pray, and worship. Go to Him daily, moment-by-moment for a fresh supply of His power.

Diane

1 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coast[2] accessed 07.23.09