Prone to leave the God I love
Robert Robinson wrote: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.”
Anyone of us can testify to occasions when our walk “in Christ” doesn’t feel close and intimate. What do you do when the journey seems to have taken the wrong fork in the road? You seek help and support.
If you are feeling the need to talk confidentially to a Christian Counselor about any spiritual, emotional or marriage concerns in your life before your concern becomes a crisis; please consider phoning the Clergy-Care network hotline at: 1-888-5-CLERGY (1-888-525-3749).
Fellowship National and several other evangelical denominations in Canada have partnered with ‘Focus on the Family’ to provide professional Christian counselors to their clergy, missionary, chaplain and spouses.
Your phone call is confidential. No one reports who contacts the Clergy Care hotline. Just phone and talk to a credentialed professional Christian counselor. Do it today.
Life and ministry can rob us of the “joy of our salvation”. Those who consistently experience soul-health receive the promise of James 1:12 (NLT):
“God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
The promise and prize of resisting temptation is the “crown of life”. This is understood as receiving God’s blessing over our life. When we consistently win over temptation, we live and enjoy life to the fullest.
Don’t let Satan get a foot-hold in your life by playing the shame-game or the blame-game. Be keenly aware where the enemy of our soul seeks to penetrate our heart. His game-plan is spelled out in James 1:14-15 (NLT)
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DESIRE (James 1:14-15 NLT)
“…each one is tempted when by his own evil DESIRES…”
Desires are not all evil. They’re good, even essential. But any desire to excess becomes destructive. Bringing harm to our spiritual and emotional life. We can often be doing damage to our life while pursuing something good but to excess. Temptation is often a fulfillment of a legitimate desire but done in a wrong way of wrong time.
The second step in the Devils game plan is:
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DECEPTION (James 1:14 NLT)
“…he is dragged away and enticed…”
The word “dragged away” is a hunting term meaning to be snared in a trap. The word “enticed” is a fishing term meaning to be lured by bait. Different traps and bait work on different fish or animals. The devil knows the bait that works best in your life. You see, you desire, you start to nibble believing you’re mart enough to know when to pull back. The deception is hooked. This is a sign of spiritual immaturity.
The third step in the Devil’s game plan is:
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DISOBEDIENCE (James 1:15 NIV)
“Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin,…”
The message, paraphrases this verse as: “Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin!”
James moves from a fishing metaphor in vs. 14 to a child birth metaphor in vs. 15. What begins in our minds gives birth to an action or a destructive habit. But it starts in the mind. And often what we initially flirt with, we will eventually fall for. Marketing advertisers know this is a fact of life.
Desires lead to deception which leads to disobedience which ends up in:
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DEATH (James 1:15 NIV)
“…and sin when it is full grown, gives birth to DEATH”
Death is the final consequence of our tendency toward being “prone to wander”. Instead of receiving the crown of life, we receive death.
We all have free-will. We have freedom to choose the narrow path or wander from it. But, God has not given us the freedom to choose the consequences.
For the unbeliever it means separation from God.
For the believer it means broken fellowship with God.
The pastor and hymnist, Robert Robinson penned these familiar words in 1757,
“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.”
But Robinson, finished his though and his hymn with a final promise:
“Here’s my heart, O take and seal it;
Seal it for thy Courts above.”
In James 1:17-18 the Bible turns from sin and evil desires (vs. 14-16) to God’s goodness. Two things will help us from wandering:
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THINK on whatever is “good and perfect” (James 1:17) and remember our true IDENTITY for we are God’s “choice possessions” (James 1:18)
God has adopted us into His family. The Bible has given us absolute assurance that God has sealed us as his child forevermore.
When those inevitable occasions in life, seek to rob us of the joy of this reality, the Bible challenges us to refocus our thoughts (James 1:17) and remember we’re kingdom kids (James 1:18).
This won’t make us immune from dark days, but it will give sufficient light to find our way back from our wanderings.