Wayward Children

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the L-RD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." Isa. 1:2

Take heart, mothers.....even the L-rd has wayward children!

Don't we blame ourselves when our children go astray? We do the best we can to rear them according to the Word of G-d, and they still seek their own way and fall into the snare of the enemy.

But, hey-----G-d is the PERFECT parent, is He not? Even He has rebellious children! But the Bible is clear, that G-d's rebellious children are going to come back to Him. All throughout the book of Isaiah, it makes it clear, that one day, all Israel will be gathered together again, and will mourn Him Whom they have rejected, and will once again worship the L-rd G-d.

Proverbs 22:6 is forever true: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

This Scripture is true for us, something we can count on as we pray for kids gone astray.

After all, haven't we all gone astray, turned every one to his own way as it says in Isa. 53:6? Who among us can claim to be a perfect child, can claim that we have never gone astray?

But---His mercies fail not!

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. " II Chron. 7:14

Herein is the key: we must humble ourselves and we must repent!

All sin is a result of pride. Remember Lucifer? Pride is what caused his fall. Eve? Pride---to be like G-d, she ate of the fruit. At its root, all sin is prideful. So, there is only one remedy when we have sinned in going our own way: we must humble ourselves in order to then repent--turn from--our sinful way.

It takes a humble heart to admit that one has been wrong. It takes a humble heart to stop making excuses for wrong behavior. It takes a humble heart to confess to the L-rd that you have messed things up by doing things your own way instead of obeying Proverbs 3:5,6! It takes a humble heart to truly repent!

Repenting is not just acknowledging that you've done wrong. Repentance is a turning from that wrong.....going the other direction totally! There's nothing gradual about repenting. You either repent, or you don't. You can't turn from sin a little bit and follow the L-rd. Repentance is a total turning from sin.

Here are further promises of G-d to those of us who will humble ourselves and repent:

Psalm 34:18---"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

Psalm 51:17---

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Isa. 57:15--"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Friends, the L-rd is coming soon. When he does, we who are His true children will not be going our own way any longer. We will then have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Paul tells us in II Cor. 11:31---"For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." Wouldn't that be so much better, for us to humble ourselves, repent, and follow the L-rd before He has to deal with us Himself, as we see in the next verse, "But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." G-d's Word and His promises are true.