Not All Who Wonder Are Lost

Have you ever seen this saying? It is generally found on the back of SUV's or jee's (ya know the type of vehicle that screams, "Hey, I'm adventurous...take me into the wilderness and let er rip!") For that person wandering is considered an adventure.

But what I wonder is what we call adventure really wandering? God's word says in Isaiah 53:6, "All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him (Jesus) the sins of us all."

All of us at some point have been like that 1 sheep that strayed from the 99 and have gone our own way. I look at this metaphor that God uses to compare humans akin to sheep. Sheep typically stay together following someone they trust (a shepherd) but when they wander they experience increased stress and anxiety, changes in behavior (decreased activity or appetite), are vulnerable to attack, have weakened immune systems, and struggle with basic daily tasks).

I've experienced all of these symptoms of "wandering," but not sure I ever realized they were symptoms of being away from God and away from community. Instead I deceptively called it "adventure." Don't get me wrong not all adventure is bad. God takes us on adventure, but it requires following His lead and knowing His will.

In the parable of the lost sheep it says the Father never intends (not His will) for His sheep to wander. It also tells us that He rejoices and celebrates finding the 1 over the 99 not because the Father's heart cries out, "Not all who wander are lost," but instead, "Not all who wander are found."