Hebrews 3:12 –
Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.
After writing this the author immediately compares what happened to Moses and Israel when they left Egypt. Where they took their “eye off the ball” for a moment and ended up wandering for 40 years. This is something we need to be on guard for our entire lives. We can drift so quickly from God’s grace and not even know it until it’s too late.
I think of how many times I let friends lead me astray … or maybe more properly say I followed friends down the wrong path more than once. We need to be very careful on who we allow into our “inner circle” so we can have “accountability partners” during our journey. The next verse says “you must warn each other EVERY DAY”. So God knows we can’t do it alone and need help from like-minded people each and every day. Notice the writer did not say, every week or month? No he said every day, because God knows life can quickly pull us so far away from His grace we need help every step of the way.
Some keys in life are to be fluid in your walk. Many times I have let individuals in a church turn me the wrong way or something that wasn’t done get me upset. These events quickly change my direction and I then drift aimlessly. That is what the devil wants! The key is not to rest your faith in people, but in God. Remember to never let one bad apple spoil your walk … pun intended there! Our “inner circle” is there to help talk us through times of confusion or anger, so we can remain focused on God.
Also, one last key is to remain rooted in the Word. Read the Bible and pray daily. I started this a while back and it has changed my outlook on life and helped keep me centered. Keeping a daily study keeps your eyes focused “on the ball” and therefore you can help yourself and others in your “inner circle” of friends. I cannot say how important these two aspects are in life; keeping friends who are rooted in God and studying daily. God gives us verses like this all the time for a reason, He knows life alone can quickly become self-destructive; we are designed to be with others!