Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Do you wander?

Yesterday as I was on my way to that marvelous place called Wally World
I heard the most incredible story on the radio.
It was about a man named Robert Robinson.
He was a man who as a young child had a rough life. His father died when he was a young boy and so in 18th century England it meant he had to go to work to survive.
He fell in with bad company and it was not until a he was into his late teens that he finally started
to realize that God was after him.
By the time he turned 20 he had submitted his life to God and decided to become a Methodist preacher. And although he found great joy in his salvation... he spent many years wandering in and out of the joy of his salvation.
One day while riding on a stagecoach he was confronted by a young lady bubbling over with the joy of her salvation. She could hardly contain her joy....which was a real affront to a man in the outs with God. Try as he would to avoid her enthusiasm it was a bit hard since he was sitting almost knee to knee with her.
Oblivious of his discomfort she sat there reading a book and quietly humming under her breath.
Finally, unable to get past the dreary look on the mans face...she leaned over
and asked him a question.
"Sir, would you please read what I have been reading?
I do believe that it would make you feel so much better. It is obvious you are not happy."
Leaning over he took the hymnal out of sheer gentlemanly politeness.
Sitting back....... he looked down and to read the words on the page.
His heart broke and tears began to run down his cheeks.
This is what he read.....

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love..

The woman thinking that the song had touched his heart as it had hers, smiled and said.......
"Don't you just love what this writer wrote?
It has touched my heart so over the years."
This was his response,
"Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.".*
~~~~~~~~
Like Robert Robinson, we all struggle in our relationship with God.
The refrain of this hymn says,

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love
Take my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above..
We are all prone to wander.
We look at times in our life and know that we have missed the mark.
But during this season....the time we celebrate the birth of our Emmanuel.....let us never forget
that our God pursues us out of His deep love for us.
He knows we are human and how easily we are distracted from the goal.
Even so.....He is passionately in love with you. There is never a moment when you are not on His heart and mind. Not one second!
He will never stop pursuing (your name here) because
He loves (your name here) more than life itself.
Does that blow your mind?
It does mine.
He loves you girl!
PERIOD
The video below is from a movie that I highly recommend. It is, Love Comes Softly.
This is a clip from the movie where the the song Come Thou Fount is being sung.
The song is at the beginning and I couldn't just post it......so watch it all if you like
or stop it after the song.
Love you!

*Glimpses of Christian History

10 comments:

Denise said...

I love to come here sis, because I know my heart will be touched. This was a wonderful post. I love that song, and the love comes softly movies.

Halfmoon Girl said...

I love that song too- the verse about wandering often brings tears to my eyes, as I can relate. This was a beautiful post Sharon.

luvmy4sons said...

First I had to laugh when I saw your title for today as we sang "I Wonder as I Wander" today in devotions! This was an amazing story. We like to think that once we are saved, regenerated, born again all will be peaches and cream. But He takes us from glory to glory and only He alone can know what that will entail...so many roads to go down. But He IS with us all the way. Bless you sweet sister for this story today. It means a lot to me as I contemplate on my sons' futures!

SunnySusan said...

Oh Sharon...I wish you lived next door so I could give you a great big hug....oh, do I wander...and I love that song and that movie series...

I am going thru that kind of time right now....I hate the "season" of my life...I need to "snap out of it" right now....

Amy now is out of school until like the 5th of Jan....so no free time for me...I just really need some time alone...KWIM love you

Anonymous said...

wow. That was an awesome read and boy did it hit my heart to insert my own name. Oh how good our Lord is. Truly the lover of our soul. Thank you for sharing this gem with us today.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing that story ! WOW

You post is so reflective of how we all go through those times of wander...but ohhh the Mercy of God!!

Love the video too

Blessings,
Julie

Femin Susan said...

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You have a poetic heart.Your blog is really interesting... Good Luck... You are welcomed to my blog…….
Wishing you in advance "A Merry X'Mas and A Happy New Year''

Nise' said...

Are you writing that devotional yet girlfriend? Beautiful.

Denise said...

Beautiful !

Mary said...

Sharon,

I am not familiar with the movie but loved the video. You are a blessing and an inspiration.

Hugs,
Mary