Walking Away From God

Zephaniah 3:1-2

Woe to the city that is rebellious^[a] and defiled,
the oppressive city!
² She has not obeyed;
she has not accepted discipline.
She has not trusted in the Lord;
she has not drawn near to her God.

Israel has yet again decided to rebel against God. God has warned, extended His corrective discipline and still they walk away from Him. Honestly, this kind of sounds like my kids at times. They know the "rules", rebel against it, are disciplined, and then decided to do it again. Sometimes the discipline actually works, even if my wife and I don't see it right away. In the case of Israel and in this passage of Zephaniah, they didn't accept the discipline and are walking away from God. Micah Fries in the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary says there is a pattern of walking away from God present in verse 2. I agree and it was the focus of my quiet time this morning. So, here are the steps and individual or even an entire nation can take in walking away from God.

Disobey

Obedience to God is less about living morally good lives or checking off a list the things God wants of us. It is more about living life His way and reflecting the character and nature of God. If we are called out by Him to be His representatives through salvation offered in Jesus; then His name is at stake in us. Through obedience we represent the name and character of God that is found in His Word. This is the first step to take in walking away from God. Being obedient keeps us consistent with His way and His Word and close to Him. It allows for the relationship with God to flourish and our connection to be strong.

Reject Discipline

If the character and name of God are represented through us, then He has every right to discipline us. Discipline from God is corrective, to change our hearts and nature of our being, not just to change behavior. Ultimately, discipline is to lead us to Jesus to rest and trust in His grace and salvation. Discipline is in fact an act of love. Like a parent He lovingly corrects us to Himself. Why? God loves us enough to meet us where we are, but not to keep us there. He knows and can see who we can be in Him and strives to lead us that way. My oldest son at times can be the hardest of our children to discipline. I can come down hard on him at times, but I also see how he can be a great leader. I can see who he can be, if he would just listen and follow. Therefore, I strive in love to correct him and lead him. He has to be willing to follow that discipline and lead though. If we have begun a life of disobedience, rejection of His discipline that will follow disobediecne is easier. In fact, we have a choice to make. We can either accept the discipline and our lives be redirected back to obedience or we can reject and find ourselves taking the next steps.

Distrust God

The heart of disobedience is rejectin God's way; His character of holiness in our lives and living our own way. This does something to our hearts. We begin to trust in ourselves or perhaps in other things not worthy of our trust. In addition, when God disciplines, we can either push further in or away from Him. To take this step in walking away is to push away, to move our trust from Him. Typically we reject God and no longer trust because we no longer believe His discipline was fair or good. Usually we form in our mind that He Himself is no longer good and able to be trusted. In fact the opposite is true. It is for our good that He disciplines and shows that He loves us enough to discipline which should lead us to trust in Him more. Moreover, He is consistent with who He says He is. God isn't changing the rules for His chosen people here is Zephaniah because they are His chosen people. If He did, that would make him fickle and untrustworthy. Unfortunately, as we step further away from God we don't always see it that way.

Move Away From God

If all the other three steps are in place, this is the natural course to go. Truly, we should push into God more, especially when He disciplines, but we can find ourselves drawn away. The relationship at this point is damaged. Our hearts are cold and hard by this point and it is much harder to return back to Him. It is not impossible, but it does become difficult. We now carry more baggage and habits that just hinder a reconnection. The good news is God is powerful and willing to go to great lengths to help us return, to reconcile what is broken. We just have to want it.

Inverse the Process

Ironically, if we inverse the process of walking away and make it positive steps, we can find ourselves on a path of return.

1. Draw Near- When we draw near, He will draw near to us

2. Trust in Him- As we draw near, we see who God really is and begin to trust once again.

3. Accept His Discipline- When we see the character of God correctly and the relationship is restored, discpline can be accepted easier and our hearts our softer and moldable to His way.

4. Be Obedient- As we obey, we reflect the nature and character of God. We find ourselves is right relationship and it becomes a joy to follow.