DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- PILGRIMS'S PROGRESS -- THE RETURN

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS – THE RETURN

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it' " (Isaiah 30:21).

"Just then they heard an encouraging voice say, 'Set your heart toward the highway, even the way that you went; turn again.' But by this time the waters had risen, making it very dangerous to go back the way they had come. I thought then that it is easier to go out of the way that we are on than to go back onto it when we are off the way."

It is difficult to turn the ship around when it is going in the wrong direction for several reasons. One reason is that it hard to admit that I made a mistake. To repent and change directions means I have to acknowledge that I made a mistake in the first place, and that is hard on my ego. Shame keeps me from admitting my failures and correcting my course to go back to the right path.

Another reason is that once I become accustomed to a certain way of life, it is a challenge to break from those life-patterns and return to the straight path. That is why it is sometimes difficult for a new believer to get rid of old habits and create a different way of living. Once habits are formed and a direction is set, it is hard to break them.

Here's the truth. I can't just hop back over the fence to the straight life. There are thing that must happen, like confession of sin, repentance, and repairing broken relationships that I have been caused by my sin, and sometimes suffering through the consequences of my willfulness.

The best cure is prevention. As the old saying goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Not leaving the straight path in the first place will erase the necessity of backtracking to the main road. But if I do stray off the straight path, I'm so glad for His mercy and grace, and that He speaks to my conscience when I stray from His path. God always welcomes me back to His way when I acknowledge my error.

Love, Dad