I watched my friend come out of a church service one time, and he shook hands with the pastor

Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Return to Me," says the LORD of hosts, "and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. - Zechariah 1:3.

I love the story about Larry Walters. I’ve read it in several forms, but all basically have the same elements. Larry always dreamed about flying, but was unable to do that because of his poor eyesight, so he had become a truck driver. It seems that Larry was semi-retired sitting in his backyard day after day, and he would see fighter jets crossing the skies above him. One day Larry got tired of sitting around, so he bought a tank of helium and forty something weather balloons at the military surplus store. In his backyard, he attached the balloons to his lawn chair and inflated the balloons with helium. He packed up some sandwiches and drinks and a pellet gun.

Larry had planned just to float up a few hundred feet and then shoot out some of the balloons, and float back to earth; but it didn’t quite happen the way he had planned. When Larry cut the anchoring line he shot up and kept on climbing until he leveled off at about 16,000 feet! He was afraid then of shooting any of the balloons, because it appeared the load would become unbalanced and really cause problems. He eventually drifted lower and into the approach path for the Los Angeles International Airport. A pilot contacted the tower about a guy in a lawn chair floating along with a gun in his lap.

Toward the end of the day, Larry began drifting out to sea, and the Navy dispatched a helicopter to rescue him. Back on the ground, a reporter asked Larry why he had done it. Larry said, "A man can’t just sit around."

There are many of us who are just sitting around. We’ve wandered away from God just as Isaiah says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way…(Isaiah 53:6)." Many of us have become double-minded, knowing what we should be doing and what God wants us to do and be, but instead we are busy doing and being other things.

In the midst of our sitting there, we question the love of God, which should tell us that we have turned away from Him like the people during the time of the prophet Malachi (Malachi 1:2; John 3:16). We despise the Name of God, by our lack of reverence (Malachi 1:6). We weary God, with our lip service (Malachi 2:17). We rob God, by not giving Him the proper tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:8); and we speak against Him by walking in the way of man instead of in the way of God (Malachi 3:13). As James puts it, we have become "double-minded."

There is a solution. We don’t have to just sit there. Zechariah tells us the answer, we just need to return to God. James tells us the same thing that if we will come near to God (return) then God will come near to us. The prodigal son (Luke 15) is all about those of us who have wandered away. When the prodigal finally decided to return home He found the Father waiting and joyous at his return. Don’t just sit there! Return to your God! Draw near to Him!

Here is a prayer you might want to pray to begin your return: "Dear Heavenly Father I ask your forgiveness for my double-mindedness and for how I have offended you by my actions and inactions. I want to return to You. I want to draw near to You. I’m so tired of just sitting here in a spiritual quagmire please help me to be what You want me to be. In Jesus’ precious Name I ask. Amen." (If you do pray the prayer above let me know so I can be praying for you.)