Are You Living In Two Worlds? … Hello weekend readers. My musings today came from a conversation from a friend who has been wrestling with her faith and her family’s faith because they don’t like the denomination she has chosen. We talked for over an hour and she finally said “I think I am living in two worlds and it’s driving me crazy! I pray, I talk to God, but I feel nothing happens and the pressure from my family breaks my heart and takes me down. In fact, I have just decided to walk away from religion, period!” Gulp, that is not what I wanted to hear!

Pastor Greg Laurie once said living can be the “Worst of Both Worlds” and I agree. Like my friend and yes, even myself, we find a divider and we straddle it instead of coming to grips to stop it. Remember the words from Joshua? The Israelites were literally battling with each other about “whose God should we follow” and it was separating families and it was breaking God’s heart and Joshua’s heart as well.

Finally, and out of words but with a lot of determination, Joshua stood up and shouted out to the Israelites: “If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord.” [Joshua 24:15 GNT]

Like my friend, many of us are trying to live in two worlds. How is that working for you? Are you happy? Do you feel this is the right thing for you? What happens when you spend time around other Christians, is it uncomfortable or do you just walk away? What have you lost?

That’s what my friend decided to do and she is more miserable than ever. So I told her “you need to stop this because it is breaking down your heart and worse, smashing the faith you have always had. This isn’t you.” I know those were hard words but what is harder, leaving your faith or asking God for help?

When we team up with the world’s vision we leave the light from God and walk into darkness and we all know that light cannot live in darkness. We put ourselves in a very dangerous situation and we also create a disadvantage that opens up ourselves to the enemy, that rascal devil who is right there pulling you in.

Here’s a good saying: “Trying to live in two worlds is like trying to pitch a tent in no man’s land during a battle. You’re setting yourself up for constant bombardment and you will face spiritual battle after battle while your enemy will have the advantage in every one of them.” I don’t know what you think about this quote, but for me it makes my blood run cold.

There isn’t one of us that has wrestled with our sin. We are sinful people yet we have a God who draws us in, gives us the strength we need and in his Son, Jesus, we have redemption, forgiveness and the promise of hope now and into eternity with God. Why turn back?

Here’s some questions for all of us:

1) Who will we choose–our way our God’s way?
2) Do we want to change or not?
3)What’s holding us back?
4) What world do we really want to live in?

Trying to live in two worlds doesn’t work, we know that. The choices can be difficult, but I take the side of Joshua and his family, and I hope you will as well. For each of us, our friends and our families, we must say “we will serve the Lord.” Amen, let it be so.