A loose slab in our context is a hindrance. Something that hinders the free-flow.  An excess. A weight designed to impede your speed, growth and overall wellness. Such a thing is capable of making one feel ashamed, inferior, weak and slow. 

As a child of God, we must identify the loose slabs that hinder us from attaining our true potential in Christ. In today’s blog post, we shall be identifying the things that constitute a loose slab in the life of a believer. How and why we must cut them loose. 

Below are some of the things that hinder us from growing as a faithful witness of our Lord Jesus: 

1. FRIENDS – 

This is one of the most sensitive and difficult slabs to cut off in a believer’s life. When a person is newly converted and determined to do the will of God, one of the strongest and hardest pulls our enemy (the Devil) deploys are the friends such a person used to keep.

Some of these friends might come as childhood friends, best friends, or work colleagues who have grown or nurtured a good relationship with them but are yet to share the faith of our Lord Jesus. Such people are the ones God calls us to be separate from in order to be holy. 

2 Corinthians 6:17 – Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

A person who is yet to submit to the rulership of Christ should not be a friend to a believer. 

Why? Because such a person does not carry the spirit of God in you. 

Such a person is capable of being used by the devil to lure you back to sin and the former life you used to lead outside Christ. They could be used as a valid weak point and hindrance to the spiritual levels such believers ought to be. 

A practical example of such a case is one who is newly born again and ready to do the will of God. When such a person has a friend(s) who do not share the same belief with him or her, it becomes hard for that person to thrive and grow. 

Our Lord Jesus throws insights into this theory using the parable of the sower. (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23) He explained how the wiles of this world choke the seed that had been sown in the life of a man so that it is unable to be fruitful and eventually dies at a tender age. 

That is the fate of every acclaimed believer who is yet to decide between the new life given and the old life they once lived. Remember, Light and Darkness cannot co-exist – One must give way to the other.

In the same manner, the Spirit of God cannot coexist with the spirit of the world. One must give way to the other. The question is this, which will it be? 

If you truly want to flourish in your Christian walk with God, you must find out what friendships, relationships and situations in your life that do not glorify Jesus. 

You MUST make the decision to cut them loose without apologies and with all courage and sincerity of heart. You must decide to identify fully with Jesus and do away with anything he hates. You must be intentional and vocal with your pursuits for him. 

Only then can God truly take you as his own and use you for his end-time projects on earth.

Remember, God has promised to give us everything we have lost on account of our loving and following him. (Matthew 19:27-29) 

He has also assured us that if we are separated from anything that is unholy, he will take us as his sons and daughters here on earth. (2 Corinthians 6: 14-18)

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

God is waiting and counting on you to choose him today. Do not disappoint him. He is everything you need and more. He only demands that you consecrate yourself to him. 

2. OLD HABITS, PATTERNS AND LIFESTYLES – 

Prior to becoming a believer, one might have lived without Christ. A life that includes patterns, habits and systems that might not serve the purposes of Christ. 

When one becomes a believer and receives the new life God gives, it is a natural tendency for that person to fall right back into the same patterns and systems he/she had built up through their life journey. 

Some of these habits might have become a strong part of that person and to some, addictive. We must understand that when God gives us salvation through Christ, he gives us the enabling grace to build and sustain a life in him. 

A grace that can only be activated by bringing down the high places of habits, patterns and lifestyles that do not give glory to God. We must commit to establishing new habits, patterns, and lifestyles that fit our new identity with the help of the Spirit. 

When such strongholds have been brought down, and new altars of salvation raised, we must take it as due diligence to walk in the new experience with diligence and tenacity, making it our nature and pattern of living.

A practical example would be someone who used to be addicted to porn or something that defiles the mindsphere of a human. When such a person receives Jesus, the Devil will tempt that believer with those things which are familiar to them. 

The devil will use the familiar territory to instigate a temptation to pull down such believer. We must be attentive and vigilant to the devices of the wicked. 

However, through the virtue of Christ, we have been given the power and grace to overcome by the blood of the lamb, and the testimony of our salvation. (Bible verse – we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony)

All we need to do is engage that grace with tenacity and by his grace, we shall be up and soaring to his glory. 

3. OFFENCE AND ANGER – 

Psalm 119:165 – Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

When a believer is born again and waxing strong in their relationship with God and the Church, such a person must keep an eye out for offence.

Offence and anger are some of the deadliest blows the devil deals to believers when they have gained a foothold in the kingdom of God and his Christ.

For example, a person who has followed God in truth and in spirit, abandoning everything else during their pursuit of God, only for the Devil to use a self-acclaimed ‘believer’ or ‘church’ to hurt or do evil against that person. 

Such a scenario can be very hurtful and serve as a loose slab to that newly converted person. In such case, that person must remember the person who has called them to himself – God – and pray for the grace to do away with such offence and grant him/her peace in their heart. 

We serve a God who answers prayers. 

When you pray in line with the instructions of God’s word, you will be well on your way to overcoming the dangers that anger and offence pose to your spiritual journey with God. Thus leading to a mature and firm believer in Christ.

Click here to learn more about how to overcome offence and anger as a child of God. 

I pray that the Good Lord grants us grace to do away with every loose slab that hinders us from becoming what he wants us to be in Jesus’ name! 

As we continue our daily walks with God, never forget that he is with you always and with him, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.