Locked On And Moving

Ephesians 2:10 — “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

God didn’t create us to sit in the station. He created us with a destination. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are His workmanship and that He has already prepared good works for us to walk in. There is a purpose God has prepared beforehand. The question isn’t whether there is a track—it is whether we are staying on it and moving forward.

A train is designed to move toward a destination, but movement depends upon several things. It needs power. It needs rails. It needs direction. If it becomes disconnected from its source or comes off the track, the journey is interrupted. In much the same way, our enemy does not necessarily have to stop everything God is doing in our lives. If he can disconnect us, distract us, or derail us, he can interrupt our progress.

God desires us to remain connected, protected, and directed. We stay connected through intimacy with Him. We remain protected by recognizing the spiritual battle around us and refusing to give the enemy a place. We remain directed by allowing the Word of God to determine how we think, believe, and live.

Stay Connected

Before Peter denied Jesus, Jesus already knew what Peter was about to face. In Luke 22:31–34, Jesus warned Peter that Satan desired to sift him as wheat. A few verses later, Jesus told His disciples, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:40).

Peter did not know what was coming, but Jesus did.

That is one reason intimacy with God is so important. We see what is happening right now, but God sees what is around the bend. He knows the battles we have not encountered yet, the temptations we have not faced, and the decisions we have not been required to make. Staying close to Him prepares us for things we cannot yet see.

Purpose isn’t sustained by hype; it’s sustained by intimacy.

A train does not generate its own power. It has to remain connected to the engine. Jesus gave us the same picture spiritually when He said in John 15:4–5, “Abide in me, and I in you.” He finished that thought with an unmistakable statement: “For without me ye can do nothing.”

We can become busy doing things for God while slowly neglecting our relationship with God. We can attend church, serve, minister, work, provide for our families, and fulfill responsibilities while our private connection with Him grows weaker. Eventually we may find ourselves trying to accomplish through human strength what was meant to flow from spiritual intimacy.

The further we get from the engine, the less power we have to move.

Prayer keeps us communicating with our Source. Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Prayer is not merely presenting God with a list of needs. It is fellowship. It is listening. It is learning to recognize His voice and allowing Him to direct our lives.

Worship also keeps our hearts aligned with the track. The presence of God keeps us sensitive to His direction. When our attention becomes consumed with everything happening around us, intimacy brings our focus back to Him.

Hebrews 12:1–2 tells us to lay aside the weights that hinder us and run with endurance while “looking unto Jesus.” There will always be something competing for our attention. Intimacy keeps our eyes on Jesus instead of everything around us.

Moses understood this. In Exodus 33:12–18, God had given Israel a destination, but Moses refused to separate the destination from God's presence. He essentially told the Lord, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us from here.”

Moses understood something we desperately need to understand: arriving somewhere without God's presence is not success.

We don't simply need God to give us a destination. We need Him throughout the journey.

Don’t Get Derailed

Peter was connected to Jesus, but he was about to experience spiritual warfare in a very personal way. Jesus had warned him, yet when pressure came, Peter denied Jesus three times. Luke 22:54–62 records that after Peter realized what he had done, he went out and wept bitterly.

Peter had experienced a derailment.

Every believer needs to understand that we live in the middle of a spiritual battle. First John 2:15–16 identifies the influence of the world and the lusts that seek to pull our hearts away from God. Scripture also repeatedly warns us about the devil and his strategies against believers.

We face the world, the flesh, and darkness.

The world will tell you what is normal. God's Word tells you what is true.

The flesh wants feelings, appetites, and desires to determine direction. But we cannot allow our feelings to take the driver's seat.

Darkness works strategically to oppose what God desires to accomplish. Jesus told Peter that Satan wanted to sift him. Later, Peter himself would write in 1 Peter 5:8–9 that believers must be sober and vigilant because our adversary walks about seeking whom he may devour.

Peter learned something from his own derailment.

We don't have to be afraid of the enemy, but we do need to be aware of his tactics.

Ephesians 6:11 tells us to put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil. The enemy looks for opportunities along our journey. He may look for a crack in our character, a weakness in our discipline, an offense he can turn into bitterness, a temptation he can turn into bondage, a thought he can turn into agreement, a wound he can turn into an identity, or a distraction he can turn into lost momentum.

A train doesn't have to be destroyed to stop moving. It only needs to come off the track.

That is why Ephesians 4:27 warns, “Neither give place to the devil.”

Some derailments begin with something that initially seems insignificant. One unchecked thought. One tolerated offense. One secret compromise. One unhealthy relationship. One area where we refuse correction. One habit we keep feeding.

The progression can be subtle: crack → compromise → derailment.

Offense can become bitterness. Comparison can become dissatisfaction. Fear can replace faith. Pride can make us uncorrectable. Busyness can steal intimacy. People-pleasing can cause us to follow people instead of God. Constant entertainment can consume the attention that once belonged to the Lord. We can even exhaust ourselves chasing things God never assigned us to chase.

The enemy doesn't always need to destroy you. Sometimes he just needs to disrupt your direction.

We can become distracted instead of devoted, offended instead of obedient, fearful instead of faithful, confused instead of confident, isolated instead of connected, and exhausted instead of effective.

And often it happens subtly.

There have been times in my own life when I had to come to myself and recognize that I was allowing other things and other people to lead me rather than God. Sometimes the most important spiritual decision we can make is simply recognizing, “I am getting off track.”

When the Holy Spirit reveals that, don't continue farther down the wrong track. Turn back toward the One who called you.

Galatians 5:16 tells us, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Staying on track is not accomplished through human willpower alone. We walk in the Spirit.

Keep Moving

Avoiding derailment is important, but Christianity is not merely about avoiding wrong things. God has somewhere for us to go. We have a purpose to fulfill.

This is where the Word of God becomes essential.

The Word doesn't just give us encouragement; it gives us rails.

Psalm 119:105 declares, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” God's Word gives direction when everything else is competing to lead us.

The world says one thing. Feelings say another. Circumstances present their own argument. People have opinions. Culture constantly changes what it calls acceptable, normal, or true.

But you don't steer your life by feelings. You steer by truth.

When emotions say one thing, culture says another, and circumstances appear to contradict what God has said, His Word remains the standard.

The Word also exposes the enemy's lies before those lies can redirect our lives. Ephesians 6:17 calls the Word of God “the sword of the Spirit.” Scripture is not merely something we carry to church. It is a spiritual weapon.

We cannot fight a spiritual battle with a carnal strategy.

Jehoshaphat discovered this when enemies surrounded Judah. Faced with a battle he could not win through his own ability, he turned toward God. He proclaimed a fast, sought the Lord, prayed, and received God's direction. The answer to a spiritual crisis was found by seeking spiritual direction.

Joshua and Caleb demonstrated the same principle when Israel stood at the edge of the Promised Land. Twelve spies saw the same land. They saw the same fortified cities. They saw the same giants. Yet they reached very different conclusions.

Ten spies allowed what they saw to become greater than what God had said. Joshua and Caleb had God's Word in their hearts. The giants were real, but God's promise was greater.

The issue wasn't whether giants existed. The issue was which voice would determine their direction.

As a train needs rails beneath it, a believer needs the Word beneath them.

Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Second Timothy 3:16–17 teaches us that Scripture equips the believer for every good work. That connects directly back to Ephesians 2:10. God has prepared good works for us to walk in, and His Word equips us to walk them out.

We are not just carrying a Bible. We are carrying a weapon, receiving direction, renewing our minds, exposing lies, and establishing truth beneath our feet.

Get Back On Track

Peter's story did not end beside the fire where he denied Jesus.

That is important.

Peter failed. Peter wept. Peter experienced the pain of knowing that he had done exactly what Jesus said he would do. But his derailment did not become his destination.

In John 21:15–19, the resurrected Jesus met Peter again. Jesus restored him, spoke to his purpose, and then gave him a simple command: “Follow Me.”

Those words brought Peter right back to the heart of discipleship.

Follow Me.

Jesus did not tell Peter to build his identity around his worst moment. He called him forward.

Maybe you have been distracted. Maybe offense got into your heart. Maybe you listened to people instead of God. Maybe fear became louder than faith. Maybe you allowed something into your life that slowly moved you away from where God was leading you.

Don't build a house beside the derailment.

Get back on the track.

Your failure does not have to become your destination. Peter's failure did not cancel his calling. Jesus restored him and called him forward, and Peter became a powerful voice for the Gospel and the Kingdom of God.

God has a track for our lives, a destination for our faith, and a purpose for our existence. The enemy's strategy is to disconnect us, distract us, or derail us. But when we stay connected to God, protected by recognizing the spiritual battle, anchored in His Word, and focused on His purpose, we can remain locked on and moving.

So ask yourself three questions.

Are you CONNECTED? Are you staying close to the Source?

Are you PROTECTED? Are you recognizing what is trying to derail you?

Are you DIRECTED? Are you allowing God's Word to determine your direction?

God didn't create you to sit in the station.

Stay connected. Stay protected. Stay directed.

And whatever you do—stay LOCKED ON AND MOVING.

Love Pastor Steve & Selfiah www.dgimpact.org