Message summary: There are times when Satan’s luring temptations turn into tortuous warfare, but we will remain firm in our faith as we bind our wandering hearts to the God we love.

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“Aaron said, ‘Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil’” (Exodus 32:22). “With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your commandments” (Psalm 119:10). “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19,20).

Yesterday I was riding along Trout Run Road where there are many goats in a rocky field next to the road. I saw that a small kid goat had wandered on the other side of the fence to enjoy the genuinely greener grass. (The other side is pretty much just dirt.)

Goats are prone to wandering. As natural browsers, they are driven by curiosity and a desire to seek out new and varied vegetation to eat. This, combined with their intelligence and climbing ability, makes them skilled escape artists. (This from an internet search and now AI of course!)

The farmer's son came across the road to carry the young goat back inside the fence. The scene stirs up several Biblical teachings such as the loving shepherd carrying the lost sheep back to the sheepfold or the stinging rebuke that Nathan gave David after his sin with Bathsheba about a rich man who had very many sheep, goats and cows. (2 Samuel 12:1-15)

But today let us consider the meaning of being "prone to wander". The tendency is not unique to goats. Sheep also easily wander and we've also had dogs that like to wander. Currently our maltipoo Falcon just can't resist wandering off to chase squirrels or bunnies!

But are we also prone to wander? Of course we are!

Robert Robinson in 1758, with blunt candor, writes about our faulty human condition. Buried in the third verse of his famous hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” he describes the proneness of his heart's driftings, “Prone to wander how I feel it, prone to leave the God I love".

We appreciate the forthrightness of hymn texts that describe our fallen human condition. It’s all too easy to identify with them.

Robinson’s proneness to wander and live for self rather than the God he professed to love is all too common among the redeemed and can impact each of us. Each time I sing this line I’m reminded of the two natures that wage war within: the sin nature vs. the spiritual nature. It seems like sin comes crouching at the door of my heart far too often (Genesis 4:7).

Our first daily text describes the Israelites soon after crossing the Red Sea. Moses was on the mountain and the people grew impatient, demanding Aaron to construct a golden calf for them to worship. Aaron, who was surely complicit in the deed, blamed the people, making the observation that they were “prone to evil”. That surely describes the entire unregenerate human race!

Chris Thomas in his blog "The Ploughman's Rest": writes "The days ahead hold many distractions, many enticing pathways, many alluring agendas, and my heart is prone to wander. You and I are in desperate need for the grace of God to bind us to His own purpose and plan for our lives".*

In our second text the Psalmist expressed an inclination to wander from God’s commandments with a resolve to seek God with a whole heart. The way the Bible accurately speaks about the condition of our hearts is further evidence of the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.

The third text speaks of wandering from the truth, surely the most severe form of wandering, which leads to error and eventually death.

Jesus, by His grace and through the power given us by the Holy Spirit, enables our will to resist the temptation to wander into deadly enemy territory. There are times when Satan’s luring temptations turn into tortuous warfare, but we will remain firm in our faith as we bind our wandering hearts to the God we love.

Be encouraged today!  Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber