Prone To Wander

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.-Psalm 77:11

Robert Robinson penned the hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” in 1758 as an autobiographical account of the work the Lord had done in his life.  One of the most popular lines in the last stanza reads, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” In this heartbreaking line of the song, we confess that we are quick to wander away from the God we love.  In the previous stanza, the song reads, “Oh to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be.”  Singing the lines of this song fills our hearts with great conviction and points us to our need for God’s grace.  We are so often quick to forget what God has done for us and, just like the Israelites, we run to man-made idols instead.  We trade our faith for forgetfulness. 

God’s people have struggled with forgetfulness from the beginning.  We see over and over again throughout the book of Deuteronomy warnings for God’s people to not “forget” (Deuteronomy 4:9, 23; 6:12; 8:11, 14, 19) and commands to “remember” (Deuteronomy 5:15; 7:18; 8:2, 18; 9:7; 15:15; 16:3, 12; 24:9, 18, 22; 32:7). 

•  “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen..” (4:9)

•  “Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God,” (4:23)

•  Then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (6:12)

• “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today,” (8:11)

He calls this forgetful nation to remember what He has done for them.

• “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” (5:15)

• “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness,” (8:2)

• “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.” (15:15)

•  “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.” (32:7)

How quickly we forget the goodness of God.  Too often we rejoice at God’s work in our lives, but when hardship and suffering come, we run to fear and worry, leaving the God we love.  Like the Israelites, we too need daily reminders not to “forget,” but instead, “remember” what God has done for us.  What are some practical ways that we can intentionally “remember?”

• Reading God’s word and daily filling our minds with truth.

• Keeping a prayer journal and reflecting on ways He has been faithful over the years.

• Sharing with others how God has been faithful in our lives.

As we face struggles this week, let us be intentional about “remembering” what God has done for us.  I encourage you to call someone this week and share a way God has provided for you, comforted you, or gone before you in a situation.  Ask them to share something God has done in their life.  Let us help each other “remember.” Then we can let “Thy goodness like a fetter, bind our wandering hearts to Thee.”

Blessings,

Andrea Shustella