Let Jesus Lead You Back

Proverbs 19:3,

“When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.”

God is the most important person in everything we do. This is true of those who believe in God and seek to follow him, and this is true for those who deny the existence of God and try to ignore him. This is true because we were made by God, and we were made for God.

This design echos in the world around us, and in our hearts. So much so, that even when we go our own way, God is still in the picture and still on our minds.

Because God is the most important being in the universe, everything we do is in relation to Him. And when we go our own way, and our plans aren’t working out for us, we can respond negatively in relation to God in two ways: avoidance or defiance.

In avoidance, we continue to run our own path. We do not want to acknowledge God in it. We are frustrated that things aren’t working out, but we do not want to face God and reckon with the path we have put ourselves on, so we avoid Him.

In defiance, we blame God for the results of the actions we have taken. You may have been wanting nothing to do with God, and at the same time blame Him for things going wrong. It is because our hearts show our need for a relationship with God, they are designed for it.

Both of these paths, whether avoidance or defiance, leave us in a place without God and without lasting joy. Isaiah 53:6 says,

“All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.”

God sent his Son to save us from our wandering at great cost to himself. He died to restore our severed relationship with God. We all have strayed from the path, and Jesus came to bring us back to God. Let Jesus lead you back. Would you pray with me?

Prayer of Confession

Father, all of us have wandered from you. We have turned away from you at times to hide, or turned toward you at other times in anger. We thank you that you are a God who leaves the 99 sheep to go after even just one who has strayed. Jesus you have taken the weight of our sin on the cross, so that any who come to you will be forgiven. Even the one sheep that has wandered very far away. Father, help us now to see the ways we are avoiding you or blaming you. Help us to confess our wandering to you in this moment of silent confession…