Please note that “man” in this context refers to both male and female and for further emphasis, we shall consider a few aspects that could make man disconnect and wither away.
1) Shallow mindedness:-
When we do not consciously engage in Daily services, worship, or dig deeper in the word of God, We will soon forget the almighty God who can take us higher above limitations, shallow mindedness will set in, As God’s Children, there are things we must know and never forget, (see Romans 6: 6-14).
“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin…” (Romans 6:6-7)
Unless The understanding of the above scripture sinks deeply into our minds, we will remain shallow, let us know that the things we do not know may be responsible for our limitations in life. Some things we may even know but not have believed or forgotten can equally be responsible for our limitations and sometimes we may have known or remembered certain things, yet have not practiced them but consistently procrastinated, which may also be responsible for the limitations in our lives. We must know and never forget that Christ’s death on the Cross was to deliver us completely from sin and fear, His death terminated Sinful life, sinful habits, and the sinner man in us, the devil was also destroyed by His death. Until we Realize and understand these, we cannot walk in it, such minds remain shallow, such cannot be a correct Christian and such life will still be an instrument for the devil to maneuver. But just like the word of God emphasized “KNOWING THIS” it means it is a sure matter, it actually happened and we must be surrendered to that fact, it must settle on our minds, we must build up the knowledge of this fact in our thoughts and keep on walking in it as He gives us grace. When we “Know this”, it will give us rest, joy, and peace in Christ, we must arise to the FACT, we must not sleep but continue in prayers and study of God’s word, ELSE, we become shallow, and then Wither away. Christ is the source of our hope, joy, rest, and peace for anyone who surrenders to God, it is by His blood that we are set free from sin, and by his power, we overcame the enemy of our souls, only if you believe in Jesus, receive Him as personal Lord, you shall be victorious. And so we must go deeper and yonder in seeking Jesus, so His Love will become sweeter, power will come for us to overcome the devil.
2) Lack of willingness to go yonder or extra miles with God.:-
But lack of willingness to go the extra mile in prayer, in yearning to become like Jesus, in the desire to study the word of God and meditate on it will prevent us from seeing more of the Lord, we will not be exposed to more of His greatness but if we go on with Him, His goodness, love, and life will fill us.
Moses saw the burning bush and decided to go yonder, to check why the burning fire without a burning bush, his life was impacted (Exodus 3:2-4).
He saw a passing glory when he went yonder to the mountain, his face shorn so brightly even though with a glory that faded away, whereas how much more then will the glory be, if we come in through Christ, shall we not experience a brighter glory that never fades away? (2 Cor. 3:11)
Mary Magdalene went yonder, far than Peter and the rest, she collected a first resurrection glory ( John 20:11-12) Apostle Paul after his encounter with Jesus on the way to Damascus went yonder to seek God in Arabia, He received a greater purpose for living,
“to reveal his Son within me so that I could go to the Gentiles and show them the Good News about Jesus. When all this happened to me I didn’t go at once and talk it over with anyone else; I didn’t go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. No, I went away into the deserts of Arabia and then came back to the city of Damascus”. (Gal.1:16-17 TLB)
3) Hanging out with sinners:-
Hanging out with sinners or always hanging out in the wrong habitat is living outside the court of God and outside His Presence, it is field life, dwelling in unholy places, exposed to peer pressures and pleasure will subtly draw the heart away. Therein, you are surrounded with all appearances of evil, the eyes will definitely see wrong things, the ears will hear wrong things and because the place is all wrong, you will soon begin to do those wrong things but you need to rise up now and flee from there. David said
” One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
One place we must desire to be in the presence of God, There’s no better place, Please note that the presence of God is not a geographical venue, it is a state of the heart, we may see people on church altars or singing in the Choir robe or pray in prayer rooms of the church, yet committing adultery and fornication, they are not in God’s presence but just entertaining the people and pretending to work for God, their aims and motives are not to worship but to gratify self. Hanging out with sinners is union with darkness, it breeds hypocrisy, it encourages cover-ups, cunningness, and telling lies, it withers the Soul, the bible says:
“Stay away from people who are not followers of the Lord! Can someone who is good get along with someone who is evil? Are light and darkness the same? Is Christ a friend of Satan? Can people who follow the Lord have anything in common with those who don’t? Do idols belong in the temple of God? We are the temple of the living God, as God himself says, “I will live with these people and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” The Lord also says, “Leave them and stay away! Don’t touch anything that isn’t clean. Then I will welcome you and be your Father. You will be my sons and my daughters, as surely as I am God, the All- Powerful.” (2 Corinthians 6:14- 18 CEV)
Let us hold on to God, let us abide in Him, abiding in Him is to hide inside of Him, learning how to live, if there is any safe place to hide securely, it’s in God’s presence, for he that dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under His shadow. Friends, don’t just hide in the midst of the trees like Adam who heard God’s voice and ran away, no longer bold to face God because his life was not correct. if you are a sinner hiding in the church today or still going here and there about your normal business, it will be to your profit, if you beg God for mercy, come boldly to His presence in Prayers to receive forgiveness and grace to stand.
“If a man abides not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. [If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:6-7)
“How well God must like you- you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College. Instead, you thrill to GOD’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You’re a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom. You’re not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust- Without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people. GOD charts the road you take. The road they take is Skid Row.” (Psalm 1:1-6 MSG)
We will be like that tree replanted in Eden, near the river of God, receiving His light daily, receiving His freshness daily, if we come and abide in God.
4) Double mindedness:-
Lack of stability instead of focusing on God with a single mind leads to withering, A mind that’s unstable cannot receive anything from God because such a mind will surely consider many things aside from God, this is Lukewarmness and playing harlotry.
“I know you well-you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you were one or the other! But since you are merely lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth! ” (Revelation 3:15-16TLB)
5) Fruitlessness:-
Christ’s death has already saved us from Sin, we must arise not remain idle or abide alone but bear fruit for Him and we cannot bear fruit unless we die like Him, Dying to self, to pleasures of sin, and to the pleasures of the world, surrendering to Christ and allow Him to work His way in us, no more struggles to bearing fruit, He will work it out in us if we allow Him.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24)
We shouldn’t just hear or read or desire to be like Jesus in His death but we must practically follow Him in our conversations and deeds. We must beg God for Grace, Practically doing what He says is very important to stay fresh like a tree that’s bearing fruit. If we do not do what he says, we will forget His commands because it will not be part of our lives, A tree that does not bear fruit will soon have its leaves withered.
“The grapevines are dead; the fig trees are dying; the pomegranates wither; the apples shrivel on the trees; all joy has withered with them. O priests, robe yourselves in sackcloth. O ministers of my God, lie all night before the altar, weeping. For there are no more offerings of grain and wine for you. Announce a fast; call a solemn meeting. Gather the elders and all the people into the Temple of the Lord your God, and weep before him there. ” (Joel 1:12-14 TLB)
6) Boasting, Leaning on Personal strength:-
Let us briefly see the account of how Peter boastfully rejected the prophecies of Christ when he was told that he would deny Jesus three times before the cock crew, how he began to boast, rather than pray about it, he slept off even in the place of prayer with Jesus and when the enemy came to arrest Jesus in the garden, he thought the enemy’s battle could be won with Personal Strength, he brought out the sword to slashed off the ears of the high priest’s servant but Jesus Corrected him, Peter eventually denied Jesus before a little girl. May we not lean on our own strength or understanding to overcome withering life, we must pray about it, may the Lord help us.
“Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight you will all desert me. For it is written in the Scriptures that God will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have been brought back to life again, I will go to Galilee and meet you there.” Peter declared, “If everyone else deserts you, I won’t.” Jesus told him, “The truth is that this very night before the cock crows at dawn, you will deny me three times!” “I would die first!” Peter insisted. And all the other disciples said the same thing. Then Jesus brought them to a garden grove, Gethsemane, and told them to sit down and wait while he went on ahead to pray. He took Peter with him and Zebedee’s two sons James and John, and began to be filled with anguish and despair. Then he told them, “My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death … stay here … stay awake with me.” He went forward a little, and fell face downward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me. But I want your will, not mine.” Then he returned to the three disciples and found them asleep. “Peter,” he called, “couldn’t you even stay awake with me one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For the spirit indeed is willing, but how weak the body is!” Again he left them and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot go away until I drink it all, your will be done.” He returned to them again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy, so he went back to prayer the third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, “Sleep on now and take your rest . . . but no! The time has come! I am betrayed into the hands of evil men! “… (Matthew 26:31- 70 TLB)
Actually, anyone who Sleeps in the place of prayer or sits outside the court will soon deny Christ and will be within the reach of the devil who will deal with him treacherously, such will wither away.
7) Receiving UnGodly counsels:-
Wise and righteous counsels are from God, His counsels last forever but the counsels of the unjust shall be nothing but leads to shame.
” Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditates day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”( Psalm 1:1-6)