Friday, 17 December 2021
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” – Hebrews 12:1 NIV
I grew up watching movies and one of the things that has always fascinated me was quicksand. It’s sand that has liquid form and although it seems stable enough to support your weight, the minute you stand on it you slowly drown in it. The more you try to fight it the more it swallows you up. The fear of this phenomenon terrified me and I was scared of walking around places I wasn’t familiar with. What scared me the most was the fact that you are so powerless and you slowly come to the realization that you are not going to make it. The more you labor, the more energy is dissipated, and the more you drown. It’s the useless energy expenditure (that has no results) that is very frustrating.
In our Christian walk, we also have quicksand that most people aren’t aware of. It is the same quicksand that hinders our progress in the spirit. Once you are stuck in it, you are powerless and unfruitful. To others, you may seem to be laboring yet in the spirit you are stagnant. The harder you fight to walk through it, the more it pulls you in. Like natural quicksand, it also slowly swallows you up. You may initially believe it’s not a problem and initially willingly walk in it, believing its effects are mild and benign. This quicksand is the sin that so easily entangles us.
The above Scripture highlights how sin is a hindrance to our progress in the spirit. Scripture highlights the entangling aspect of it. It’s like a fowler’s snare that renders the victim stationary and unproductive. The more you fight it, the harder it will be to untangle yourself. This is why the Bible warns us to stay away from it as it’s easy to walk in it but very difficult to rid yourself of it (why many Christians to this day are struggling with things they started in their youth e.g. porn, alcohol, promiscuity). When you are busy fighting to untangle yourself your focus is removed from attaining everything GOD has given you. Like the Israelites going around the same mountain for decades, instead of reaching the promised land. The funny part is that like natural quicksand, sin doesn’t come to you but you go to it.
“Always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth” 2 Timothy 3:7 NIV. Apostle Paul was warning Timothy that there are people within churches who refuse to grow, even though they have access to the same truth, they reject it because of their own evil fleshly desires. Sin has entangled them and as a result, they are fruitless in their pursuit of GOD and holiness. We must never ever underestimate the detrimental effects of sin in our pursuit of righteousness. It’s the quicksand that keeps us stationary and slowly swallows us up. We may be laboring, but our labor is in vain. We seem to be moving forward, yet our displacement is downward. It’s the quicksand we know and knowingly go into it even though the Holy Spirit has warned us countless times.
We must never ever underestimate the detrimental effects of sin in our pursuit of righteousness. It’s the quicksand that keeps us stationary and slowly swallows us up
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