Restless Wanderer by Martin Wiles

“Trying to put a square peg in a round hole” described my life perfectly.

Born when civil rights leaders were being murdered and persecuted, when political leaders were succumbing to corruption, and when minorities and women were vying for equal rights made restlessness a part of my life. I was a child of the sixties and seventies. Rebellion was bred into my nature. My parents, however, came from a straight laced generation. I was pulled between the two, and this made me a restless wanderer.

Cain was too. When God rejected his sacrifice, he took revenge on his obedient brother by killing him. The result: You will be a restless wanderer on the earth (Genesis 4:12 NIV).

Sin and guilt both played a part in Cain’s restlessness, and it did mine as well. I rebelled against God’s direction, and so did he. Guilt is a natural component of choosing the opposite course of what God desires, and I felt my share of it. False guilt comes from Satan and others, but mine was God originated. I was his child—but his rebellious child.

Beyond identifying the source of my restlessness, I also had to confess and rebuke it. When Satan is heaping false guilt on me, I remind him of the cross. When God is convicting me, I confess.

I have a past like everyone else, but it’s not the source of my restlessness. God has forgiven it. Even though I’m a product of my past, I’m not its prisoner. Only blatant and continual rebellion will bring restlessness, and even this is God’s way of instructing me to turn around.

Are you controlled by a restless spirit? If so, God can give you peace when you choose to obey him and rebuke false guilt.

Prayer: Thank You merciful God for the promise of a peace that is beyond our understanding.

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