Pastor’s Corner: “Prone to Wander”
Ecclesiastes 1:8 (NLT) – 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
King Solomon knew what it was like to have a restless heart. Even though he had much, he could find no fulfillment or peace. Because of his restlessness, he searched the world to find rest, satisfaction and contentment. He left no stone unturned in his quest with his unlimited resources. What was his final assessment: “Everything is meaningless, completely meaningless! My final conclusion: 13 When all has been heard, the end of the matter is: fear God [worship Him with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is almighty God] and keep His commandments, for this applies to every person. (Ecclesiastes 12)
Augustine of the 4th century, a Christian philosopher came to a similar conclusion. He spent years wandering, but his mother kept praying for him and years later he came to Christ (praise God for praying mothers). His conclusion and prayer: “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” Augustine knew this from his own experience, and we know it too. The human heart is full of longings. We want to be loved. We want to succeed. We want to be happy.
The prevailing desires of our hearts are different. One person wants love above all else, another wants revenge. One wants to be independent; another would do anything to avoid being alone. One wants to be where the action is; another wants to get out of the rat race and enjoy some peace and quiet. One is desperate for security; another is tired of security and wants to take a risk. Why are we restless? Why can we not just be content in our life and our situation?
C.S. Lewis said, “Our hearts are restless because we are made for another world”. Intuitively we know we need something to complete our broken hearts, minds, and spirits. Augustine rightly points out that our completion is found not in romance, wealth, nor learning but rather in the One who formed us. God Himself. That’s why David said, “…my soul finds rest in God alone” (Psalm 62:1)
For many of us, we have this inner restlessness, something we find hard to describe. We try to find this ‘something’ in our work, relationships, building more money for ourselves, or pleasure, to somehow fill the gap. But we forget God makes us for Him. It’s only with Him that we find true satisfaction.
The final verse of the great American Hymn “Come Thou Font of Every Blessing” always speaks to my heart of this restlessness: Oh, to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be, Let that goodness like a fetter Bind my wandering heart to Thee, Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it Prone to leave the God I love, Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it Seal it for Thy courts above.
Bono describes his U2 band’s hit single “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”—from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree—as “a gospel song with a kind of a restless spirit.” Maybe that’s how you have felt. As if you have been searching and searching. Do you feel defeated and discouraged? The only answer to the vacuum in our hearts is a relationship with God—knowing the Father through the work of his Son, applied by the power of Holy Spirit. The nurturing of this relationship, resting in and rehearsing the gospel is our greatest purpose. It is the very reason our hearts were created: to know, love, and delight in the God who created us for his glory (Psalm 16:11; Isaiah 43:7; Jeremiah 9:23–24).
The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”(Exodus 33:14)
Then we have the wonderful words of Jesus, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 – NIV).
R.E.S.T. {Reflect – Engage – Surrender – Trust.}
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton