Let’s be honest. Sometimes when we “wander away,” it’s more than just a sheep getting lost from acting like a sheep. We human sheep can come to enjoy a little lostness in a perverse and dangerous way.
We feel like we can handle things on our own. Being in “the far country” can’t be that bad. But sooner or later, the novelty dies and, like the Prodigal Son in the parable (Luke 15), we “come to ourselves.”
Now, what to do? The son in Jesus’ story, after the harsh reality sets in, reasons that he would be better off as his dad’s hired hand than in his present predicament. He prepares his humble, self-effacing speech on his way back home, ready to face the music.
But he knew his dad better than many of us know our Heavenly Father. We imagine rebukes, discipline, an “I warned you / I told you so” reception, and a long period of probation, not to mention an occasional eye roll and shaking head at our folly. We did, in fact, dishonor God.
This is where David found himself in Psalm 32. He had sinned greatly, and was trying to make the most of a broken life on the edge of God’s will. Plan A is gone forever, thanks to me. Now I’ll have to settle.
All the while he held this inside him, there was a price to pay. . .
“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For night and day your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”
But then, a breakthrough. Forgiveness and restoration. No rebuke. . .
“Then I acknowledge my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’-
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
David implores us not to follow his stubborn example (v. 9):
“Do not be like the horse or the mule which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come near you.”
And how can he be so sure?
“Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the man who trusts in him.” (v. 10)
David is saying that when we have purposely wandered from God, it only makes things worse to double down in our irrational rebellion. We should not be as willful as a wild pony or stubborn as a mule.
Forgiveness does not cancel the law of sowing and reaping, and remnants of your far country living may cling to you. But your salvation is not in danger, and your Father will guide your recovery. (He sent His Son to atone for your sins, which are forgiven, not overlooked.)
There are those who want you to pay and pay and pay for your falls and folly. But God is not one of them. He restores you on the spot just because you are His child. And then He throws a party. Jesus (Luke 15:10) tells the self-righteous, “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word has no place in our lives.” 1 John 1:9, 10