March 8 - When We Go Astray.

Psalm 119:67
“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.”
 
The weakness of the flesh can cause us to go astray. We can go far down the wrong road before we even realize we have wandered from that which is right.
 
Isaiah 53:6
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
 
That day on the Cross, Jesus Christ bore the weight of the sins of every human being that had ever been or will be born. Though we may stray, because of our faith in what He did for us on Calvary, we are not forsaken.
 
Matthew 18:12-13
“How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.”
 
The Good Shepherd desires to find us and show us our need for correction. When we do not see our necessity on our own, He must intervene by chastisement. Through affliction, we can learn where we are spiritually, and repent…or begin to turn ourselves back toward the right direction.
 
Proverbs 3:11-12
“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”
 
He loves us. When we feel His chastening hand and turn, we too can say…”but now have I kept thy word.”
 
If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must turn back when we go astray.
 
 
Bible Reading:
Numbers 15-16  |  Luke 18  |  Psalm 36