When the Rhythm Breaks | Ep. 139

Do you feel distant from God and aren't sure how it happened? In this episode, we talk about the subtle ways spiritual drift can take hold when life gets busy. Anchored in Revelation 2, you'll learn how to recognize when your rhythms have broken down and take simple steps to reconnect with Christ. If your Bible has stayed closed or prayer feels rushed, this conversation will help you find your footing again.

👉 Listen to a related episode: When We Drift from What God Said | Ep. 138

Transcript

Welcome And The Big Question

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is episode 139, and I'm your host, Satoya, and this is Equip the Next, where you get equipped to lead, disciple, and move the mission forward. So, what happens when the rhythm breaks? You don't want to miss this.

Support The Show And Grab Resources

SPEAKER_00 0:49

That means that we have a new topic. As usual, thank you so much to those people who um continue to support this ministry. I really greatly appreciate it. Listen, if these podcasts have been a blessing to you, please consider supporting by simply following this episode or following this podcast, liking it, commenting if you are listening on YouTube, sharing it with someone you love. It's greatly appreciated. Also, don't forget to download those Bible study guardrails. They really help. It's a one sheet or one pager that kind of gets you going as we are talking about today in this month, finding your way back.

Why Spiritual Drift Happens Slowly

SPEAKER_00 1:40

So I think that this kind of segues into what I'm going to be talking about today, and that is when the rhythm breaks. What do you do? You know, when you lose that momentum. Listen, it is July, like I said before, and it's the summertime. I get it. And you know, people are traveling, taking vacation, staycation. Kids are probably a little bit more active if you have children. I I completely understand. And sometimes that can cause our rhythm to break. And things happen, we know, but sometimes when we kind of drift a little bit too far off, it's hard for us to get back on. And so hopefully, these um podcast episodes that we'll have this month will encourage you and give you back that drive that you know, build that momentum to get back in to that rhythm. I think it's important that we focus on recognizing how spiritual drift often happens gradually rather than intentionally. Like it's not a one and done thing, it's very gradual, right? You got a phone call, you gotta run an errand, gotta, you know, do this, that, and the third, and life just be life in. But we need to make sure that we are including God in our life, you know, in our schedule, in our plans. Listen, I'm a mother and I am a wife. I completely get it, which is why I was like, you know what? Now is the best time to talk about a topic like this. So I want you to ask yourself this question. What have I slowly drifted away from? Ask yourself that. If you are on your treadmill, if you are in your car listening to this, whatever. Ask yourself this question. What have I slowly drifted away from? And then maybe maybe you're that person that's like, well, Latoya, I I haven't drifted away from anything, at least currently. Okay, fine, share this with someone who may need some encouragement. Maybe someone has opened up to you and shared their heart in regards to them drifting. Whatever the case may be, it happens to all of us at some point in time. We all can attest to this.

Revelation 2 And Remembering First Love

SPEAKER_00 4:20

So this brings me to Revelation two um, particularly four and five, when we have Jesus um actually confronting the church in Ephesus, saying, But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had first, that you had first, sorry, I'm I'm reading down. And then it goes on to say, Remember therefore, from where you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. And you know, those in Ephesus, if you've read Acts 19, um if you've read the book of Ephesians, but especially in Acts, when we are introduced to those in Ephesus, once they repented, they there was no turning back, they were on fire for the Lord. Um, those in Ephesus who had once had that fire, here we see in Revelation of the Lord, had started to lose that fire, you lose that love, you know, and when you're looking at it from that lens, you have to ask yourself, what happens when you've lost that love? Maybe you've grown numb to spiritual things, maybe you've lost the desire to open your Bible or to fellowship with someone. I I know people who is, you know, unfortunately have had things happen in their lives. Maybe you've lost loved ones and and and um they've pulled away from the Lord and and he understands because you're you know, it's the grieving process, you know, but it's okay to grieve, but he also wants you to cling to him as well. Um, he wants you to stay in the race with him. Um, my best friend um can definitely attest to this. She is a an example of, in my opinion, um just clinging to the Lord, especially when it gets hard. Praying and journaling and coming to him and walking towards him. But some people that might be difficult. Perhaps you don't have that drive, perhaps you don't have that community uh to fellowship with anyone. I just want you to understand that the Lord sees you, he loves you, and he's asking you to come back to him. I know that sounds kind of cheesy, but it's very easy and it's very simple. A lot of times we complicate things that don't need to be complicated because again, drifting is often very subtle. It's very it's it's not a one-time thing. So you have to kind of look and assess when did I first drift? When did that happen? What in my life around me was going on when that happened?

Small Steps To Build Momentum Again

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Because we can lose focus without losing faith. I don't want you to think that because you've lost your focus or your rhythm that you've lost your faith. No, no, but if we don't check in, if we don't even, you know, hold ourselves accountable when no one else does, we can drift a little bit too far off. And sometimes it's important to understand that busy seasons can crowd our first priorities, family, work, etc. Busy seasons, like I said before, they happen, but returning begins with remembering, then listening, and then acting or applying it. Maybe you're listening to this podcast and it was a great nudge for you to get back focused. You can do it small, just the same way that we drift all um very little, you know, subtly. You can come back very gradual. It doesn't have to be a, you know, okay, I gotta get all in. No, listen to some podcast episodes um here if you're starting out. I would encourage you to listen to episode 105 on how to study the book of James, um, because it's definitely great for the Christian walk if you are reading something and you you want to get back into it. It's a short read as well. Um, maybe you want to go to coffee, go um go go to coffee, sorry, with someone you love. Go for coffee. Yeah, that that's it. Go for coffee with someone you love. Maybe you want to journal. I've been recently getting into journaling, and maybe just write a letter. Write a letter to the Lord. Don't drift too far. Don't drift too far. Remember your first love. Return to Christ. He's there. Nothing you did is that bad where he doesn't love you. His love is is never changing, it will never go away. He understands that life be life and that's okay. Just make sure that you bring him along on the ride.

One Rhythm To Restore This Week

SPEAKER_00 10:17

My challenge to you this week is to identify one rhythm that has faded and take one step towards restoring it. Whatever that is. Maybe you used to um read a couple verses in the morning. Maybe when you took your morning walk, you would listen to a worship song, and life just happened and you weren't able to get that back. I challenge you to get that back. That one rhythm, that one space, that one piece of the puzzle that you've been longing for. I challenge you to identify that and get that back. Take one step forward into restoring it. Bless you. Well, that's it for today. Thanks for listening to the Equit the Next podcast. If this episode blessed you, I'd appreciate it if you leave a review and share it with someone who can use a little encouragement. Now grow in God's word and lead boldly.