Wandering Heart, God Want’s You to RETURN
“Your love is so unchanging. You have loved me through my sin and my returning and it’s my joy to worship You.” - Jonathan Ogden
When you find yourself giving into sin and falling once again, what do you do? Do you humbly draw near to God in repentance? Or do you flee from Him, shrinking in shame?
God’s love never changes - He is faithful and in Christ nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Even when we give in to the flesh yet again and turn our hearts affection off of Him, He is still faithful to love us and to draw us back into His fellowship.
We must remember that in Christ we are set free from the condemnation from sin, in other words we are declared legally righteous in Christ (Romans 8:1-2). This is called justification. Yet, we will still battle against our sinful flesh all the days of our life until we are are brought home to be with the Lord in glory forever, set free from the presence of sin (Romans 6:1-4, James 1:12-15, Ephesians 6:10-12). What a day that will be (Romans 8:18). Until that day, we are to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). To be putting to death our sin (Colossians 3:1-10). The fact that we are at war with our sin is a good thing. For apart from Christ, we were dead in our trespasses and sins and were slaves to sin (Ephesians 2:1-3). Now, in Christ, we can choose to walk by the Spirit and in the freedom that Christ has given us (Ephesians 2:4-10).
What Keeps us Away
Pride, guilt and shame keep us from wanting to turn back to God when we feel that we have failed Him (Genesis 3:9-10). Yet, our salvation was never ours to earn, it is a free gift from God (Romans 6:23). At the root of all sin is pride, or in other words a mind set on self (Genesis 3:4-7, Romans 8:6-8). When our minds are on ourselves, we beat ourselves up for how we have failed and fallen short. We are surprised by our failure. Yet, “God forgives sinners, not because they are good, but because He is good” (Charles Spurgeon). There is nothing good in us apart from Christ. All have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We should not be surprised or taken aback by our sin, but instead we should be in awe of God’s love, grace and goodness to such sinners. It is only when we see our sin for what it is, that we see the depths of God’s love for us. Timothy Keller put’s it this way:
“We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
Humble Yourself
How do we move away from the pride, shame and guilt?
By humbling ourselves before God. This look’s like confessing our sin to the Lord; even when we want to run and hide or make excuses. God pours out His grace upon us when we humble ourselves and admit that we are sinful and in desperate need of Him. “The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference” (C.S. Lewis).
“But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” - James 4:6-10
It is when we draw near to God, that He will draw near to us. So the answer when we feel far from God is to draw near to Him. Our feelings of shame and guilt are not the truth. Jesus Christ has covered us in His blood. We must take our eyes off of ourselves and our failures and put them back on God's never changing character. For it is when we behold the beauty of who He is that everything changes.
Draw Near to God
Jesus came for the sin-sick; for those who see their brokenness and their need for Him. Therefore, we do not need to clean ourselves up to come to Jesus. The lifestyle of a christian is one of repentance. It is seeing the depths of our depravity, yet not staying there, but throwing ourselves at the feet of our Savior (Jesus Christ).
“It is the most counterintuitive aspect of christianity, that we are declared right with God not once we begin to get our act together but once we collapse into honest acknowledgment that we never will.” - Dane C. Ortlund
We can confidently come before the throne of God in Christ Jesus. For Jesus Christ, drank the cup of God’s wrath that should have been poured out on us. Therefore, we can draw near with “a true heart in full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:22).” We can draw near to Christ at all times, for He has made us new-creations; He has cleansed us from the condemnation, guilt and shame of sin. Dr. Constable puts it as such,
“Because Christ's self-sacrifice has made full atonement for the sins of His people, we can and should draw near to God...We should approach God with the "assurance" that Jesus Christ's death has removed our guilt for sin, and has made us acceptable to God.”
Next time you find yourself discouraged by the sin that still resides in your heart, humble yourself, and rest in the sufficiency of what Christ has done for you. Hold fast to the hope that you have in Jesus Christ - that He has set you free from the condemnation of sin and that He who began a good work in you is faithful to bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
Wandering heart, God wants you to return to Him. He want’s you to humble yourself before Him and to embrace the Love, grace and forgiveness that He has poured out on you through His Son Jesus Christ.
To Live
Questions to ask yourself: 1) Where do I need to humble myself and confess sin? 2) Have I been trying to bear the guilt and shame of my sin myself or am I looking to Jesus and what He has done for me?
Pray: Come humbly before the Lord in prayer, confess any known sin and ask Him to help you look to Him and what He has done for you in Christ. Psalm139:23-24 are great verses to pray.
Prayer to pray: “Let thy love draw me nearer to thyself, wean me from sin, mortify me to this world, and make me ready for my departure hence. Secure me by thy grace as I sail across this stormy sea.” - Valley of Vision
To Listen
Laid down Lover by Jonathan Ogden
*this article was originally posted on Kindred Soul Counseling