PRONE TO WANDER

"O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
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."

You may recognize these words from the hymn, "Come, Thou Fount Of Every Blessing". These words have been ringing in my head for over a week now. Just think about God's grace being given to us... we were once enemies of God and yet He gave us life through His Son, Jesus Christ. Notice the wording the second half of the second verse...

"Jesus sought me when a stranger, 
wandering from the fold of God; 
he, to rescue me from danger, 
interposed his precious blood."

Jesus searched for me... a stranger wandering away from Him. He not only searched for me, but He rescued me from danger and then He washed me with His blood. Yes, I owe God so much and yet I have no way to repay Him.

And here is where that last verse has so much resonance with us... in spite of all that He has done for us, we still find ourselves wandering off at times, even for just a moment or two. "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;" Why do we wander away from God? Especially knowing the feeling that tells us we are about to mess up. Paul says it so well in this passage from Romans...

Romans 7:15-20 (ESV) 15  For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19   For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 

And then he asked this great question, Romans 7:24 (ESV) 24  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? [Underline added] Paul answers that question in the next verse and as you read it, I invite you to thank God for His amazing grace. Here is the answer to the question, Romans 7:25 (ESV) 25  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!..." 

Thanks be to God through Jesus our Lord! We are not in this alone. Often we will be tempted to wander off for a while and we may even do that even though we know better. So if we do wander off, remember that He is looking for us. Let us return to Him and ask Him to forgive us. In the meantime, let us focus on the couple of lines in the verse which say "Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, " Will you give God your heart today? You can trust Him.