What does it mean to turn away from God?

Understanding ‘turn away from God’

Turn away, literally, means to move your face in a different direction from what you were facing. Turn away from God is much the same as the term turn away. Turn away from God is the situation where a believer or a child of God loses faith in God and diverts his attention, devotion, and worship from God to bestow them on another object of worship.

The phrase turn away from God is often used to denote apostasy, which means to abandon one’s faith or belief in God. In the Bible, the phrase is used on occasions when the people of God abandon God and offer their worship to idols. In times past, the only people of God were the Israelites and this sin of turning away from God was very common to them as they often switched to serve the idols of the nations around them. Also, the phrase is used on occasions when certain god-fearing Israelites switched from serving God to idols.  

Turning away from God can take many forms, including walking away from God into other religions, rejecting God’s sustaining power, or embracing doctrines inconsistent with biblical truth. As an example of turning away from God, one called King Amaziah, who served God, went to war with his enemies. Upon defeating his enemies, he collected the idols of his enemies, brought them to his kingdom, set them up as his gods, and worshiped them. This is turning away from God.

The consequence of turning away from God is apostasy or separation from God, often marked by a life of sin, emptiness, and guilt. Nations and individuals that turn away from God incur His wrath, as stated in Romans 1:18. This wrath can manifest in various ways, including natural disasters, war, and other calamities.

There are many causes of turning away from God. One of the primary reasons why individuals turn away from God is due to the influence of the world and its values. Other causes include the lust of the flesh, pleasure-seeking, pride, disobedience, and a lack of faith. Talking about pride and disobedience, these are the factors that caused King Saul to turn away from God to his destruction.

In a situation where you are turning away or have turned away from God, there are ways to reconnect with God and strengthen your faith. Reconnecting with God can start with a simple prayer and begin an intentional journey of trusting Him again. Being mindful of God’s presence in your life, keeping a gratitude journal, listening to worship music, praying and talking to God each day, and meditating on uplifting scripture are all ways to reconnect with God.

Additionally, serving others in His name can strengthen your faith and help you reconnect with God. By exploring these forms of worship, individuals can connect with God in meaningful ways, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in them and transform them.

Things we should rather turn away from

On the contrary, while it is a thing forbidden to turn away from the Lord, the Bible still teaches believers to turn away; that is, we should rather turn away from anything that the Bible describes as abominations such as illicit sex, promiscuity, homosexuality, lesbianism, idolatry, etc. for it is written –

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. (Ezekiel 14:6)

Conclusion

Apostasy, in name, does not occur in the Bible. However, all over the Bible, the phenomenon could be identified. The Bible uses several words and phrases to denote apostasy among which is turn away – turn away from the Lord or turn away from God.

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