We were driving to the beach one day and came through a small town. I noticed up ahead there was a police car parked on the side of the road. Like everyone else, hit the brakes, even though I wasn’t speeding. As we approached the patrol car, we noticed it was a mannequin dressed up like a police officer. I have heard of other towns doing the same thing. It’s called traffic calming. It makes people passing through the town slow down, but in all eventuality, when drivers figure out it is fake, they ignore it all together. It may fool those who have never passed that way before, and maybe that is good enough.

Do we do that in our walk with the Lord? Sure, we look like we are Christ-following Christians on the outside, but inside we are just fake followers dressed up like Christians. Those passing us by are fooled, but once they see our lives outside of church, they realize we aren’t as “serious” as they once thought. I’ve been there many times, in my walk. Sometimes, it may not even feel as if you have wandered away, but the fruit has dried up and it’s hard to find your way back.

Spiritual warfare is more of a cliché than it is a reality in our lives. We explain things away as being “not that bad” or just a coincidence. In reality, the devil has made his way into all aspects of our lives. Things we love to do for God have become twisted into things we “have” to do for God. Reading and studying the Word has become something we do only when our phones are dead. We are decaying from the inside out and believing the lie that these things make us happy.

How many people in our church are living hollow lives but look fulfilled on the outside? How many people are filling our church pews when they have no intention of doing what they hear the preacher say each Sunday? How many people have fallen for the trap of worldly success only to find heavenly failure?

In the day and age of social media, online church, and social distancing, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of trying to maintain our own walk by thinking we can worship at home, do our own Bible study and do Facebook ministry. No wonder we are empty; where do we go to fill ourselves back up?

John 4:13-14 says, “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

The story of Jesus and the woman at the well is a wonderful illustration of what I am talking about. Jesus encounters a woman and simply asks her for a drink. The first thing she does is state their differences. She tells him that He doesn’t have a bucket. She even tells him she isn’t married but, also, hides the fact she is living with someone. All of these things may seem small and insignificant, but they were interfering with Jesus and His desire to set her free. Ultimately, Jesus was trying to tell her that to be fulfilled, she needed Living Water.

We throw a lot of excuses at Jesus, but why do we try that with the One who knows every thought and every intention? Even as I write this, I can feel the world trying to pull me back into its clutches. I believe in spiritual warfare. I believe it is real, and I believe it is very much active. Don’t fall for it, Church. Break free from the hold it has on you. Casting Crowns sing a song that says, “Leave it all behind, and come to the well.” Maybe, we should take those words to heart and start living for Him in all that we do.