WVHIGHAMTRUST - the ministry of Vernon Higham

Letter to the Soul - Dear Backslider
Written by Vernon Higham

I wonder if you are willing, and have the patience, to read this message. Very few of us like to be told where we have gone wrong spiritually, yet at the end of the day we know that we have to face up to this fact. However far we have wandered away from the things of God, that were once dear to our hearts, there remains, deep in our souls, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. My hope is that you will read these few words and that you will benefit from them, for they are aimed at your heart, with the clear intention of bringing you back to God and to fellowship with His people. A Christian can often experience a period of coldness and discontent. However long or short this period may be, I feel sure that the backslider can never be entirely happy.

The fact is, nothing can destroy the relationship that you have with the Lord Jesus Christ. I am aware that a person can experience a false and a temporary conversion, but I doubt if they will experience the concern that I am speaking about. I sincerely believe, that in the backslider’s soul, there is a longing to return to God, but meanwhile the pressure of friends and distractions of the world have a firm grip. It will always be difficult to make that break with the sins we both love and hate. You can probably identify yourself with the hymnist who wrote: ‘Where is the blessedness I knew - when first I saw the Lord?’

In this sad and fallen word in which we live, it is no easy task to live a life of grace that is well pleasing in the sight of God. Christian people go through many experiences of sorrow, disappointments and a host of other things. It may well be that the heart grows cold because of one of these circumstances and you fail to draw on the vast resources of God’s grace in life. It is so easy to become spiritually cold and indifferent, if not antagonistic, to the guidance and sympathy of God’s people. It is possible to go very far from the gospel of God, and yet not so far that God cannot reach you. If you are truly a backslidden Christian, you will inevitably come back into the fold of God’s presence. So why waste time?

I cannot believe that a Christian who has experienced the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ can ever forget that time in his life, when his sins were removed and the perfection of Christ’s life was counted to him. Consider well now how this verse speaks of you, ‘For He (God) hath made Him (Jesus Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him’. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Can you easily lay aside such things? Never! The memory is indelible. 

Now the question arises, do you want to come back? Or shall I put it another way? Do you want to be sure that God will receive you as a child in the Day of Judgement. Be honest with yourself in the matters of your soul, and ask yourself - is your present state going to be the story of your life? Is this what you want? If this is so, I can assure you that there will come a time when doubts and fears will flood your heart at the very thought of an encounter with a Holy God. Do you wish to die trembling, not sure of your acceptance, or a welcome, by your Heavenly Father. This is no way to face your end. Come back my friend, and listen to the hymnist once again in his experience: ‘Return, Oh Holy Dove! return - sweet Messenger of rest! - I hate the sins that made Thee mourn - and drove Thee from my breast’.

Let us now consider how to come back. Consider the Prodigal Son, where the younger of two brothers wanted his share of his father’s inheritance in advance. This was in order that he might go away and live a careless, immoral and selfish life. He wished to gratify all his desires and lusts. This he did until his money had gone and he found no pity amongst his new - found friends. He was eventually reduced to the lowly task of feeding swine and partaking of their food. There is then a sentence which I find very telling - ‘when he came to himself’. At this point he set out for home, and as he approached his home, his father saw him from afar, and rushed to meet him and embraced him, exclaiming ‘my son who was dead is now alive’. It was a happy reunion.

Now, although it is true that it is God that is working in our souls, yet this is balanced with our own responsibility. A miracle takes place from what seems to be a little flicker, which flames into a burning desire to come back to God. My dear friend, He is longing for you, and waiting for you, with great expectancy, to see you again. Respond to His promptings.

Consider what is holding you back. Is it one of these? The love of sin, bitterness of heart, the fear of unpopularity or the pain of admitting that you have wasted much of your life. This is the time to call on God to help you. In North America, there is an ant which is called the fiery ant and it can cling to your body. It has to be prized away and it is a very painful process. Sins and hindrances cling to us, and our foolish idols are not easily removed, they are fiery tyrants. You have no choice; you have to have help from the only One who can help you. Do not go to friends, however well meaning, to reassure you that you are a nice person and not doing anybody any harm and that you are jolly good company. Turn to God. Once again let us listen to the same hymnist: ‘The dearest idol I have known – whate’er that idol be - Help me to tear it from Thy throne - and worship only Thee’.

The compassion of God is beyond our comprehension, and His love towards us, through His Son, passes knowledge. Do you understand that He has paid dearly for you?

Is it not true that a parent grieves over a child that has gone another way and who never, ever writes a letter or picks up the phone to ask how they are? Can you imagine the pain of the parents? Stop hurting yourself. Stop grieving the Holy Spirit. Come to your senses and rise up and make your way to your Father’s Home. My dear friend, I do not wish to offend you but I do wish to bring you to your spiritual senses, sooner rather than later. Let us go back to Cowper’s hymn that ends triumphantly: ‘So shall my walk be close with God - calm and serene my frame - So purer light shall mark the road - that leads me to the Lamb’

Take the step and you will find a greater joy than you have ever known before. Never forget that you are an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. Heaven awaits you. Do all that you can by God’s grace to show evidence in your life that His grace is in your heart and one day He will lead you to glory.