“Have you ever done something that you know is not right but you still proceed to do it?” The most probable answer is ‘Yes’. Walking in righteousness has been a great struggle to all Christians everywhere. We keep falling into the temptation to sin and we fail to resist. Some become remorseful and repent while others never rise up again after they are fallen. This has been a real struggle that traces back to as far as the garden of Eden. The devil has always tried to draw people away from God to himself. His tricks have always been enticing such that many people have been drawn to his ways. The reality is, as Christians, we are prone to wander.
Oh! it is dreadful for a Christian to be lost in mind and heart from the presence and glory of God. For to be so is like being burnt inside out by fire of torment not visible to the naked eye. It’s the worst place a child of God to be. For what is to be the state of the Christian who has been deceived by his own deceitful heart and pleasures of sin and wonders off from God other than that he torments his righteous soul. For to be this; the Christian cries out loud in anguish of his own soul; he feels the presence of His Lord no more, a blanket has come upon him that he should not take delight in the things of God. It is dreadful to the soul of him who wonders off from the narrow path that leads to eternal life! If a Christian should continue sinning by pleasing himself in the wicked ways of his heart and regards not the many rebukes of God to turn away from his sins; seeing that he becomes ignorant in the warnings of the Lord, then does the Almighty God His Lord no longer takes pleasure in him and that He should abandon him by withdrawing His presence from him for a little while.
This abandonment of God’s presence from a believer who has wondered off from Him, is like a torment to the soul of the Christian, yet it is not a total abandonment but a partial one. For the Lord looks after His own like hen would to her chicks. It follows that the Christian enjoys not the fellowship of brethren, his prayer becomes empty and no longer does he see God as his Heavenly Farther but as his enemy. For the fear of punishment of condemnation in the lake of fire has settled in his heart; he fears Him whom he used to call Heavenly Farther; he yet fears the wrath of the Almighty God upon the ungodly as he sees himself to be one. He reads the scriptures but find no delight in them; he calls on God but the heavens are shut that his prayers are not heard. His wondering off has left him as a destitute and to despair at his soul. A dark cloud covers him and walks as a blind man seeing not the face of God. The devil comes and laughs at him and viciously pursue him to utterly crush his weak soul. Is as if a parade is made for him by the demons celebrating of his anguishing soul and his unanswered prayers of salvation and comfort. Oh! the dreadfulness of the state of lost from the comfort and presence of God! The Christian does continue in such state with his soul crying out in anguish; lamenting everyday for his soul; “my Lord, why have you forsaken me! Why has thou withdrawn your presence from my soul! Pardon your servant his sins and may thou restore him to glory that thine enemy be put to shame.” The lost child of God mourns everyday for his sins and stops not until the Lord would remember him and comes back with gentle hands and comforts his troubling soul. Thus the Christian when he sins and ignores and despise the rebukes of God, wonders off to the tormenting of his soul.
Remedy to wandering
Being prone to wander, is the main reason that Christ was sent to earth. God sent down Jesus to die on the cross so as to provide a solution to our wandering away from Him.( John 3:16-17) God showed us, sinners, His unrelenting love and provided us with a solution to wandering, the blood of Jesus.
The Bible in Hebrews 10:4, insists that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away our sins but the blood of Jesus washes away every iniquity in our lives. We’re reminded to always turn back to God for forgiveness when we stray because He’s always willing to forgive and forget our sins (Hebrews 10:17). It is, however, clear that if we willfully sin after we’ve received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins (Heb 10:26). God doesn’t take disobedience lightly, those that purged in the time of Moses died brutally. As Christians who are called by the name of God, we should always remain vigilant about God’s ways for the one who called us is faithful.
It’s always good to maintain a good personal relationship with Jesus through worship. He gave us grace to come to him, not through priests, but as individuals. Anyone can take their needs to God through prayer and worship, this encourages us to maintain the closeness with God even more. It’s through congregating together as believers that we build each other in love and our ties with our God are strengthened and we are made free from the fear of impending judgement for the non believers.
We are encouraged to to persevere and not cast our confidence in Christ away, for it has a great reward. If we live by faith, then we’ll be named just before God. The pilgrim journey is not meant to be easy, but that doesn’t justify wandering away from the Word either. It’s up to us to live just and acceptable lives before God; persevering all hardships we face on the way for we have a better and enduring possession in heaven.
We can conclude from the above information that man is prone to wander. There is a great danger of falling away from faith to either legalism or indulgence in sin. The forces working against us are sure to overwhelm us, if we left alone. Though we may boast of the previous experiences, all that is naught unless we finish well. The strength, wisdom, knowledge and experiences of Christian are never enough to help him continue in Christian life.
We all require the grace of God, no matter how long we have been Christians we will surely stray if left alone. Unless we be reminded and strengthened daily we cannot master our enemies. We have to know that indeed it is not by strength or might but by the Spirit of God.