Continued Collusion and Loving a Wanderer

As sure as you open heart to love someone, you take the chance that their life journey will bring “stuff” into your life that can’t be easily solved. The more you care about someone the more likely you will find yourself on your knees on their behalf. This is especially true when you care about someone who, instead of following hard after Jesus, is wandering off into the treacherous wilderness of their own way.

Loving a wanderer keeps us in desperate collusion with the Spirit of God.

 

Psalm 107 describes the wanderer in terms we probably will recognize:

those excruciatingly weary in their search of a place to belong,

those who discount God’s ways, live outside of His protection and are in bondage to their own passion and pleasure, those imprisoned by and afflicted because of their decisions;

those whose choices have brought them close to death, find themselves without help,

those hungry clear down to their very souls, yet turning from what would nurture and revive them;

those who God is taking through storms so furious they are at their wits end, the frantically courage-less.

 

And Psalm 107 describes their rescue in terms we should recognize, too. The human details and the personalities may differ but His mercy, His deliverance, His grace is reoccurring, repetitive and relentless.

He ALWAYS responds with lavish love. ALWAYS

 

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

    and he delivered them from their distress.

Savor the details of what our God delights to do. He …

leads them by a straight way

satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul He fills with good things

brings them out of darkness and the shadow of death,

and bursts their bonds apart.

shatters the doors of bronze

and cuts in two the bars of iron.

sends out His Word and heals them,

and delivers them from their destruction.

makes the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea are hushed.

brings them to their desired haven.

turns a desert into pools of water,

a parched land into springs of water.

raises up the needy out of affliction

and makes their families like flocks.

In the times when we watch sulphur-scented intentions unfold, using Psalm 107 as a foundation for prayer can revive hope and refocus anticipation. His Word can redeem the imagination so that it’s possible to envision what God is bringing to pass.

As we watch for God’s mercy and rescue to be displayed in the life stories of those we love, Psalm 107 can guide our words as we pray for our wanderers. “Lord, as they cry to you in their trouble, deliver them from their distress.

• Lead them by a straightway
• Satisfy their longing soul
• Fill their hungry soul with good things
• Bring them out of darkness
• Burst apart what binds them … “

 

And then we keep praying. We remain faithful before the Throne until His timing is perfect and we see Him complete what He has begun. We are vigilantly at rest – trusting Him to continue to be who He has always been …

El-Roi, The God who sees

El-Shaddai, the Almighty, All-Sufficient God

Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is Present

Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord our Peace,

Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who Heals,

Redeemer

Mediator and Intercessor

Ever Present Comforter

 

And through our unwavering trust, we continue to “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”

We really can continue if we remember that every single circumstance is put into motion so that He is known. And that’s the bottom line for us – telling of our God’s redemptive power so that He is known by others. So that’s where our prayers begin: May You be known, Lord.

 

And in the meantime, we continue our collusion – by the enabling power of the Spirit of God.

We continue to “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.”

We continue to “give thanks for his steadfast love” which endures forever!

We, whom He has redeemed from trouble, continue to “say so.”

We continue until our wanderer sings their own redemption song before the Lord.

 

We continue until we hear them say:

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;

let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!