I have a friend who thinks that he has out-sinned God’s Grace because he no longer feels or hears the Spirit anymore. He has had a long walk with the Lord. Is there any way to explain what has happened to him?
It’s impossible for God to abandon us because of our sins. The reason for this is that He knew every sin of our life before He agreed to save us and took them all to the cross (Col. 2:13-15). And Hebrews 10:14 says that by His one sacrifice He made us perfect forever. Our behavior cannot surprise Him or cause Him to change His mind about us.
If your friend no longer hears or feels the Spirit it’s because he’s gotten out of the habit of doing so. It’s like falling out of love with someone after many years of marriage. It happens little by little when we don’t keep working at it. For a long time we don’t notice it happening until one day it dawns on us.
Our problem lies in thinking that “love” is just something we feel. But it’s also something we do. If we think the feeling is gone, it may be due to the fact that we haven’t been doing very much to maintain it. One of the tricks Satan uses to defeat even the best Christians is to make them so busy in “the work” of the Lord that we no longer have time for Him.
The remedy is simple. Go back to the things we did at first, when the relationship was fresh, and re-kindle the love. Worship Him. Talk to Him. Read His Word. James 4:8 promises that when we come near to God, He’ll come near to us.