Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing with Lyrics Chris Rice

My time with the Lord brought me to a devotional I've shared before.  The book is called, "Heart of the Matter" and it is a collection of some well known authors sharing about life and struggles and how those struggles lead us closer to Christ.  Today's devotional came from Edward T Welch...

There is a certain paradox in trusting God.  When we trust him, we are saying that we are entirely inadequate, which is true though it doesn't do wonders for our self image.  BUT when we trust him, it is also as if we have arrived home.  All is well.  Yes there may be many problems, but we are HOME, and the comfort and the joy of home reduces the problems of life to the level of hassles.  As you turn back to the Lord, speak your confession to him.  Tell him that your heart is prone to wander, your tendencies toward erecting idols incorrigible.  A rule of thum in conffesion is to keep at it until you have inklings of hope or joy.  Confession is not a time to grovel.  It is a time to trust in the God who delights in forgiving because it brings him glory.  

The scripture passage came from Matthew, which is the parable of the Lost Sheep.  It is all too familiar but as I read and re-read it tonight, I felt something I had never experienced.

If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety nine that did not wander off.  In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.  Matthew 18:12-14

Wow, he is happy when he finds the one who wanders off .  Lets face it, I can be a pitiful sheep.  I don't mean to wander off, but I do.  I have a knack for deviating from the path I know Christ would have me follow... most times it is in small ways but there have been times when I have been sooo far away and I have felt that there is no way God can find me... or even show concern for me.

Wandering... only one song came to mind.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God,

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

Oh, to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be,

Let that grace now 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, oh, take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.