Prone to Wander

Prone to wander…Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, Lord. Take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above. (Come Thou Fount)

This may be the most frustrating part of my personal walk with the Lord – how often I am prone to wander. I can be on fire and then not. I can be so into the Word and then not. I can be so loving and compassionate toward others and then not. On and on it goes.

I can always tell when I am on the verge of wandering. Suddenly, 15 extra minutes of sleep seem so much more important than some alone time with the Lord. I sit at the computer staring at a blank screen and realize I have nothing even remotely devotional to say. I am suddenly annoyed by people whom I normally adore. They are all signs that my heart is drifting.

When that happens, how do we find our way back?

And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me!
I’ll recognize the sound of your voice. – Psalm 119:176 The Message

What do you do when your prone to wander heart has taken to wandering?

Stay put and let the Lord seek you… As a child, I was taught what to do when I was lost. I’m sure we were all taught the same thing. You stay where you are until the person responsible comes back. It makes sense really. If you continue to wander while someone continues to look for you, your paths may never cross. Somebody has to be still. It occurred to me, this morning, that this rule also applies when our hearts have wandered. I think there are times when God is saying, Just be still and let Me come to you. Sometimes, we don’t know exactly what has caused us to wander away. We’re not even sure if we have wandered away or if we’re just really tired. Or, like a wild animal in a net, the more we struggle to free ourselves the more tangled up we become. There comes a point where we just need to stop, be still and wait for the Lord to give us direction.

Stay in the Word even when you’re wandering… When the Lord comes calling and leading you back to Him, you want to be able to recognize His voice. In this world, where so many people and things are vying for our attention, we need to be able to clearly know when it is His voice that is calling us.

Don’t be afraid or ashamed to call for help… Just because you are being still does not always mean you must be silent. If you know that you are not where you should be, call out to Him just like the psalmist. “Seek me, Lord!”, he says.