“Don’t walk away from God,” a friend had told me. “He won’t walk away from you.” She had told me she had a message from God for me. When I heard the words, I didn’t think much of it. It made no sense to me, and I did not truly believe the message was for me. My friend was certain it was. “God gave me a message for you,” she had said. Big deal, right? Yes, it was. I simply couldn’t see it at the time. So off I went on my adventure – my detour, I should say.
I should have seen the signs along the way. The emotions. The roller coaster. The torment. The gripping, gut-wrenching fear. The lack of peace, to say the least. I couldn’t see the signs, or maybe I wouldn’t. I certainly didn’t see I was walking away from God. I kept going to church. Kept praying. Kept seeking God. Kept studying his Word. Kept sharing Him with others as best I could at the time. But I didn’t see what I was doing in my heart – not until today.
In my heart, I had taken the detour. The Bible concordance shows that the original meaning of the word “heart” in the New Testament oftentimes is “thoughts and feelings.” In my heart – or thoughts and feelings – I wasn’t following God. I was on a rabbit trail chasing the world. I was seeking answers from the world. I was seeking solutions from the world. I was seeking provisions from the world. Nothing satisfied. Nothing from the world waved a flag and directed me back to where I belong.
Just yesterday, I jokingly called this ministry “Walk by Sight Ministry.” That is the exact detour I took. For the past few months, and especially weeks, I was walking by sight – according to what I saw and heard in the world.
Today, over the past few hours, the Lord spoke. Thankfully, as much as I had chased after the world, I had not stopped seeking the Lord. Today He answered my cries – with exactly what I needed to bring me back home to Him – a sharp rebuke, a mighty reprimand, and just what I needed to bring me to repentance.
For about 20 minutes, I wrote down everything He spoke into my heart. Then I prayed – and repented. The freedom is tremendous. It amazes me I could travel so many miles in the wrong direction and in a matter of minutes be restored to the route where I belong.
Thank you God for bringing me back home. Thank you for welcoming me home. Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for your embrace, for taking me into your arms, for holding me, for comforting me, for being there for me – always.
I love you forever. Amen.