PRONE TO WANDER

 

PRONE TO WANDER

Is. 53:6 All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s path to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all. NLT

Sheep are interesting creatures. They are so engrossed in their grazing when they eat that they are oblivious to where they are going or what is going on around them. They are not concerned about anything but feasting on what is before them. They know what they want and go for it until they get their fill. They often wander away from their shepherd’s protective care and must be sought after and brought back. We are much like sheep.

All of us are prone to wander away from God. No one is so spiritually minded that he is beyond the ability to stray and fall into sin. We think we are, but we need to be careful about what we believe about ourselves. We are inherently inclined to sin. It comes naturally for us and will be a problem for us all of our earthly lives. We want to do what we want to do, and when it conflicts with what God wants us to do, we often win out. We feast on the pleasures set before us and wander around seeking more of them without regard to whether or not they are good for us or take us away from God’s protective care into the dangerous clutches of Satan.

Yet, we don’t have to be victims of our sinful tendencies We can resist our urges and choose to do what pleases God instead of ourselves. We can minimize the times we fall into sin. We can break sin’s death grip on us. God laid on Jesus our sin, guilt and shame. He determined that He would do that which otherwise would be impossible for us to. Jesus satisfied God’s demand for justice against sin. He stood between God and man and declared innocent all who put their faith in Him, and God said that it was good. In Christ we are made righteous and acceptable to God.

Only in Christ can our wandering days come to an end. Only in Christ do we find that which is good for our souls. Only in Christ are we able to find our way home to God. When we are constantly abiding in Christ, then, and only then, are we able to gain victory over our sins.