So subtle!
I experienced that one too and I know it’s true.
In 2007, I successfully applied for a career break and, leaving wife and daughter in France, I went to London for 9 months to learn English.
In France, after a certain number of years in the same company (5 years minimum), you can apply for a career break for a training of your choice while your company maintain your salary.
The government then refunds your company. The government launched this to help employees to change career.
“….The Lord allowed…”
The Lord had planted in our hearts to move to the UK and we found that opened door to move forward. I was in the same company for eight years and the Lord allowed my application to go through.
At the beginning everything was alright, I was focus on the studies. I was doing 20hrs English per week then I did a twelve weeks internship. I was blessed!
But around me not a lot of Christians. I was struggling to understand sermons in English and I did not want listen to them in French so I can improve my English.
I was doing great in learning English but my soul was not nourished as he should have been. I started to go out with class mates, clubbing. I even re-started smoking (I had left this behind when I born again). Everything was a good reason to learn English!!!
“…but I was living in the flesh…”
I knew I was saved so I was not worrying about spending a lot of time in the bible. I was reading it when I could.
Little by little I started to behave like my class mate. None of them were saved. I was talking about God to them but I was living in the flesh.
Gradually I began to feel insecure as if I knew the Lord but he was not in me anymore. Now I know that he was still there but I did not take care of my relationship with him so he seemed far. But he was still in me.
“further”
Little by little I was going further in the ungodly. Talking non sense, cursing, drinking. I was sharting all this to my wife because I wanted to be transparent and I believe that at some point this opened communicatiuon with my wife was helping me to not go to deep away from God.
If you do not influence the people that you hang with, they will certainly influence you. Even if I knew I was a child of God, I was behaving like a sinner.
“came back to senses”
Praise the Lord as he prevented for going too far in my blindness. Eventually I came back home in January 2009 and I recommitted my life to the Lord around May the same year.
Before recommitting my life to the Lord I was feeling the same emptiness I had before being born again. That was awful but the Lord is faithful and never let me down.
Today I can say with Paul:
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
1 Corinthians 15 v 33-34
Keep this in mind:
Even if it’s not easy to get away from bad company, the Lord will always help us to overcome this as long as we turn to him. If we stop inviting him in our personal fellowship, he will not force his way on us. But if we turn to him, whatever situation we are in, he will help to come to the light!
ajourneyonearth.com 