"Then they all forsook Him and fled."
Mark 14:50
One of our most well-beloved hymns has a very stirring and poignant line in it: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. That thought often makes us step in our tracks and ask if we are capable of wandering away from God. Could you be prone to wandering away from God and leaving where God has placed you? The answer for that question is yes for all of us, and we need to be aware of it before we make this tragic mistake.
As I wrote yesterday's Daily Light about the disciples forsaking all to follow Christ, I looked up the word "forsook". Each time it is used in the four Gospels it is in reference to the disciples. Half of those instances refer to our discussion yesterday. The other half however refer to the most pivotal moment in the life of Jesus. Jesus had gathered with the disciples in the upper room and had taught them the great discourse of John 14-16. Each of them during this time vowed that they would never leave Him and that they would die for Him and with Him if it came to it. Jesus went to the Father on their behalf and ours in John 17. He then took them to the garden where He would be betrayed so that He might spend His last moments with them in passionate prayer to the Father. Suddenly Judas, one of their own, and those from the High Priest came to arrest Jesus. This is the moment of decision. What would they do? Clearly every one of them left Jesus standing there all alone.
Why would they leave? They left for the same reason that we all forsake God and His will for our lives: fear. Fear comes in many shapes and sizes. It is most often in the form of pride. Pride can be arrogance (I don't need that!), shame (I can't believe I did that!), or denial (This can't really be happening!). However it surfaces, when it does we run from God instead of standing and facing the enemy or even ourselves. It is seemingly easier to just get away. Think about it though, is it really easier? The hymn writer said it best when he said we are prone to leave "the God we love". How foolish it is to leave one that we love, but especially the Almighty God! Surely no good can come from forsaking Him. There was a time when Jesus taught some difficult doctrine. Many of Jesus' followers didn't understand it, so they decided to leave Him. Jesus turned to the twelve and asked if they were going to leave too. Peter gave that beautiful answer: "Lord, where else would we go? You have the words of eternal life." Don't ever forget that you cannot walk away from God or His will and be satisfied. It just can't happen. The hymn writer follows his words of leaving God with this: Here's my heart, O, take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above. You must let God have your heart and your fears, so that you will not leave Him and His will in a time of crisis.
May you stay close to the Almighty God today!
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