Running Wild

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.' (C.S. Lewis)

When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. (Proverbs 29:18 NLT)

Are you an 'all right, have it your way' kind of person? I have been at times, yielding results that I never intended to receive and making more than my fair share of 'do-overs'. To put it mildly, I am a sinner. To put it even clearer, I am more than a bit stubborn, fairly 'decent' in my actions, but kind of prideful at times. As such, I have been noted to be on a collision course with some outcomes that I never wanted, nor did I realize were coming my way. If you have ever found yourself on a similar course, you might just be one of those people God has said, "Have it your own way", allowing your misguided actions to run their course, as well. I am so glad he gives us more than one chance to find our way back into his grace, aren't you? 

Running wild is never our best course, but somehow, we think his divine guidance isn't 'good enough' or 'accurate', so we choose our own way. We elect to follow our own path, even with clear-cut instructions to avoid it. His guidance is just that - a guide. We can elect to follow a guide, or we can choose to strike out on our own. The choice to run wild is often met with warning signals ahead of us taking that 'off-guidance' course. My vehicle has GPS - so does my phone. I can choose to 'turn right' at the next turn or go around a completely different path. I received the directions - I heard them clearly - but I chose a different route. The 'system' isn't deficient or insufficient - my willingness to follow its instructions is!

We might find our choices have been less than 'stellar'. Okay, what will we do about it? Will we wallow in self-pity, regret, and remorse? Guilt will only keep us mired down in place - it doesn't change our course. The 'will of man' is determined to go one direction, but we can choose to submit that will to God's guidance and his restoration. As soon as I listen to the guidance of the GPS, turning around to follow the path it selected for me, I find my way again. As soon as I listen to the guidance of God's Word, I find out my choices weren't wise, but I don't just have regret - I desire to repent. We have a change of both mind and heart that leads us back to the right course.

Running wild might seem to hold more than a little bit of a thrill to our 'sin nature', but to our 'new nature' in Christ Jesus, running wild is 'foreign'. The one who desires to know Christ deeply might find their choices taking them into the realm of 'running wild' on occasion, but as a child of God, we also find ourselves drawn back onto course with him because he never abandons us even when we choose our own way. Just sayin!