Prone to Wander

February 1, 2019

Prone to Wander

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

1 Peter 2:21

Peter was quite serious when he wrote those words. He was also quite mindful that when he called to Jesus in the midst of a storm and Jesus bid him to come, Peter stepped out onto the water and quickly sank like a stone. (Matthew 14:22-33) Even so, just a short while later Jesus announced that faith, like that which was at work in Peter, was the rock with which he would build his church. Peter was also quite mindful that after boasting that he would fight for Jesus even unto his death, just a few hours later he denied knowing Jesus. Even so, Jesus reaffirmed his faith in Peter and told him, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21)

Our reality is just as the hymn writer put it: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing Robert Robinson). We know we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and we want to, but sometimes our steps falter. Sometimes our faith weakens, and we sink like a stone; sometimes we give into temptation and deny our calling. There are two passages of scripture I turn to when I’ve been prone to wander.

First, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

The second is, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Matthew 12:20).

My Takeaway: When Peter sank, Jesus helped him back into the boat. When Peter denied him, Jesus forgave him and commissioned him to follow in his footsteps. So also with us.

Sē’lah

Alex

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.