"Wandering Sheep"
Daniel Valles

READ Psalm 119:176

We all sin.  Just like sheep, we drift and wander away from our Lord.  In this verse, David laments how, as a sheep, he had gone astray.  His prayer is a reminder to us of what we should do when we realize that we have gone astray.  Lam. 3:40 says, "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord."  The first step is to recognize that we have sinned.  In Psalm 119:176, David repents before He seeks to renew fellowship.  When the Shepherd is out looking for His sheep, He wants to bring them back to the fold. 

Repentance and getting our heart right is the first step.  Notice that David did not make excuses, or try to look pious.  He plainly said that he had gone astray.  Not just wandering a little bit, but stumbling about like a lost sheep that has no idea or direction.  Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."  Sin is knowing what God wants, and yet doing what we want instead.  David then goes on to the next step: crying out to God for help.  When the lost sheep gets desperate and realizes his vulnerable state, then he starts mourfully bleating for his shepherd to come and help him.  He remembers that He can help him, and he remembers that he was given commandments to guide him in the way that he needed to go.

Are you a lost sheep?  Confess your sins to God, admit that you are in need of His help, and return to Him and His Word today.