“Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.” (Psalm 106:3)
We may hate doctors, but if the pain gets bad enough we’ll head their way. Sometimes, life paints us into a corner; we have nowhere else to turn. The prodigal was so hungry that swine husks appealed to him. That’s when the home he couldn’t stand started to look good again. “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” (Lk. 15:17)
The story of the prodigal son ends with him back at his father’s table, well-fed and restored. But what if the memory of the “good” things he enjoyed in the far country began to refill his mind? What if the same boredom of living at home started to plague him again? Idols don’t easily give up their grip; they must be consciously destroyed.
Strong storms have the power to drive us in a certain direction. Vessels go where the wind blows, and often end up where they really didn’t want to be. Circumstances can hedge us in and move us down a path, not of our choosing. Fugitives can realize that resistance is futile and it’s time to surrender; but is their compliance from the heart?
Whatever might have driven us to God, is not enough to keep us with God. The true test of discipleship is the state of our heart in a calm day. When the pressure is off, are we still willing to serve God, out of a heart of loving worship and gratitude? At all times, the true and living God is worthy of our every breath.