Prone to Wander

My family and I live on a farm, and we have two adorable, sometimes obnoxious, pups, a chocolate lab named Yager and a golden retriever named Izzy. When we first got Yager, I would take him for a walk every day. Living on a farm I knew that eventually I would be able to walk him leash-free, but starting off, I had to train him on a leash. I had one of those long, retractable leashes. During our first walks together I would give the leash as much slack as possible. Yager would run ahead of me, determined to go his own direction while many times putting his nose where it didn’t belong. I would let Yager wander ahead of me and give him the freedom to explore, but I would always tug him back to me before he got too far or got himself into danger. Eventually, Yager learned that he would rather walk right by my side. He gained trust in me; he learned that I knew the way we should go and that I would lead him back home to his cozy bed and food and water bowl. He soon found pleasure in my company and no longer needed a leash for our walks, because right by my side is exactly where he wanted to be.

One day during one of our walks I realized a connection to my walk with Jesus. As a new Christian, God had me on a leash, but He let me wander ahead and experiment with my own paths. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” As a young believer God allowed me just enough space to explore each path before me. Like my beloved pup, I would often put my nose where it didn’t belong, but the Lord would always tug me back just before I got to the dead end. After traveling many paths and realizing the emptiness of reaching multiple dead ends, I learned that the best path to be on was the one my Master was on. He knew the way better than I did, and I could trust him to lead me to a place where I had all that I needed. God knew exactly what He was doing by allowing me to wander off the path just a bit. I chased relationships that left me brokenhearted and dreams that left me feeling empty. It took some time, but finally I came to realize there was nowhere else I’d rather be than walking right next to the Lord. Today I walk in complete freedom, leash-free, enjoying his company in my daily walk with Jesus.

This story reminds me of the lyrics of the hymn, "Come Thou Fount."  The lyrics say, "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love."  We are all prone to wander, hard wired with determination to go our own way.  But in our daily walks with Jesus we come to the realization that there is no greater place to be than by the side of our Master, Savior, and Friend. 

Have a blessed Sunday friends!