“Come and Find Me, LORD!”
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.”
(Psalm 119:176 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version)
As noted in yesterday’s post, Psalm 119 is filled with love and longing for God’s Word, for God’s commandments, for God’s Law. The psalmist repeatedly expresses great delight in God’s way as expressed in God’s Word.
The ending of the psalm is, thus, somewhat jarring. “Come and find me, LORD. I, your servant, have gone astray.
What! After all this longing, delight, and love, the psalmist has gone astray?!?
Well, yes, that is the way it is, isn’t it? No matter how much we delight in God, we are all prone to go astray. The end is indeed jarring, but it is also real. We are weak, inconstant creatures. I have known a few Christians who had been amazingly consistent—until I got better acquainted with them. Then I discovered that they too were prone to wander.
There is an old hymn that says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” Yep, that’s the way we are.
But the psalmist wants to be found. He is still God’s servant, even though he has gone astray like a lost sheep. He has not forgotten God’s commandments. He just can’t figure how on earth to keep them.
On the last day of the year, perhaps we all feel somewhat like the psalmist. “2019 started out with such promise! How can I feel so far from God at the end of it?”
Fear not! As Tolkien said, “Not all who wander are lost.”
And furthermore, the birth and life and death of resurrection of Jesus Christ is an expression of just how far God will go in his seeking of us. Cry out with the psalmist, “Come and find me, LORD!” You don’t have to cry very loud. God has already heard your whimpering and wimpy heart.
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