Give Thanks In Wandering
November 26-27
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above. -
from “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” by Robert Robinson
Last week I referenced how a two year old had wandered off from his home in this rural community we live in. A whole community went searching and it was hours before he was found. If we are honest, we will admit we've all wandered off from God. It makes me sick to my stomach to look back on 44 years of a faith walk and remember all the times I tried to do it "my way" without God. I wish He'd snatched me back in just a few hours.
The She Reads Truth author for this entry describes holding her third child, a son, in her arms as he took his last breaths. She writes:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above. -
from “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” by Robert Robinson
Last week I referenced how a two year old had wandered off from his home in this rural community we live in. A whole community went searching and it was hours before he was found. If we are honest, we will admit we've all wandered off from God. It makes me sick to my stomach to look back on 44 years of a faith walk and remember all the times I tried to do it "my way" without God. I wish He'd snatched me back in just a few hours.
The She Reads Truth author for this entry describes holding her third child, a son, in her arms as he took his last breaths. She writes:
"I felt empty,
forgotten, dropped. I began searching for God—where did He go during this? Why
had He let my child suffer so much on earth?...My wandering often
leads to more doubt. I search scriptures, read books, even Google questions—and
I have to catch myself at times. I realize I’m looking for an answer that isn’t
mine to know yet. Rather than insisting on finding the answer, I can rest in
the certainty of the One who is The Answer.
When we wander in
search of God, our faith is challenged and shaken. It might make us angry, and
we may want to run to something that brings us immediate, earthly answers. Yet,
if we allow it, even in the midst of confusion, wandering can lead us closer to
a God we may not fully understand but we can completely trust.
When we seek Him, we
will find Him—His Word says it’s true. And so we give thanks. We cling to Him
and to the promise of Him, and we give thanks. For although we may feel lost,
we know He never loses us."
Proverbs 25:2 says: "God delights in concealing things." So, is He a fan of "hide and seek?" I think so. For God knows that by concealing things we will go searching and in that search the hope is that Jesus is who we find!
There is a story in 2 Chronicles chapter 15 where Azariah the son of Obed is moved by the Spirit and says, "God will stick with you as long as you stick with him. If you look for him he will let himself be found; but if you leave him he'll leave you."
Let's pray
God, you are always up to good, yet we wander away at times thinking we can do better. Forgive us. Your Word says you delight in concealing things, and it also encourages us to seek You. So, today we coming seeking You with all our heart and we cry out "Help our unbelief! We can't fathom Your mysteries!" When we are prone to wander, place Your Word before us and woo us with Your Holy Spirit so we are found faithfully walking close to You.
In Jesus' Name, Amen
