Prone to Wander

[Ramez5]

The Lord said, “I loved Israel when he was a child,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
But the more I called the Israelites,
the more they left me.
The Israelites gave sacrifices to the false gods
and burned incense to the idols.

“But I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk.
I took the Israelites in my arms.
I healed them,
but they don’t know that.
I led them with ropes,
but they were ropes of love.
I was like a person who set them free.
I bent down and fed them.


Today, the Lord revealed to me in the starkest light.. how far I really wandered last year. I had convinced myself that it wasn't so bad.. but in my heart of hearts.. I knew it was.

Like the children of Israel..I had begun to give my heart to the world's 'gods'.. things that were on the surface 'acceptable' but got such a hold on my mind and life. How I wept when I saw just how 'bad' I really was in my heart. If I didn't know how much He loved me, I couldn't have borne it.

Yet how good that the Lord would remind me who I really am deep inside and that any goodness I now experience.. is all of his doing and his making. It's a healthy assessment to make when you spend so much time on 'cloud 9' with the Lord.. to see how unruly your flesh really is. I don't want to be confident in my own strength. That would be a huge mistake.

How could I have plugged my ears to his words.. and the conviction of the Holy Spirit for so long? It is hard to imagine turning a deaf ear to such a loving Heavenly Father.

Wandering.. lost.. self-absorbed..self-indulgent..
and all the time oblivious of the hand that held me up
and kept me from falling too far into the pit.
Sustained by a hand that fed me.. though I never saw it was He.





When I look at my 'lost year' through clearer eyes.. it's amazing I didn't fall in some horrific way. He held me up--he sent loved ones to draw me back to 'real life'. He brought gentle distractions.. like a baby kitten.. only a few days old.. who constantly 'interrupted' my time on the computer.

I had to feed her every hour.. tiny bits of milk. How she complained and cried at my forcing the little bottle between her teeth.. and then wailed for her lost mommy while relunctantly yet desperately sucking down the life giving drink.

She fought me every step of the way for almost six weeks.. then finally.. she began to see me as 'mom' and trusted me.. and submitted to my care for her. I had to wipe her bottom after accidents.. and rub her fur all over every hour so she would learn to groom herself. Oh how she fussed! She hated staying still so long yet all the while I was giving her what she needed.

Me being 'lovingly enlisted' to rescue Lucy..was just one more 'alarm' that kept me from being glued to that screen. Therapy with my broken arm helped too. Teaching weekly art class...skype chats with my daughter... all cords of love and gentle bands that wooed me back to God's heart.

Dear friend, if you are wandering.. and plugging your ears to His gentle wooing--if you are fighting the 'yoke' he has asked you to wear.. one that he himself is holding up so it doesn't weigh you down too heavily, won't you consider coming home?


Like the father of the prodigal son, our Lord uses such gracious and kind means to bring his wandering children home to him. Don't be like the children of Israel were.. stubborn and ignorant in their pursuit of false gods.

The world has a siren call.. that it sings to all of us.. to keep us lulled to sleep in our sin and our ease. Entertainment can be such a deadly drug. Now is the time to respond. He will welcome you back with open arms. Even now.. He is holding you up and watching over you just waiting for you to return.

Dear Lord,

May your kindness truly lead us to repentance. Keep our feet from wandering. Do what it takes to bring us home to your heart. Help us to 'let go' of the things that we think bring us happiness and security.. and trust that you have something much better.. that will truly satisfy our souls. In your dear name I pray.. Amen

[Mary Naeem]

Thanks Ramez

[walaa farouk]

Thanks Ramez