The next time you sing “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” recall the following story. The hymn’s composer, Robert Robinson, was converted under the mighty preaching of George Whitefield, but later drifted from the Lord. Greatly used as a pastor, Robinson nevertheless neglected spiritual things. In an attempt to find peace, he began to travel. During one of his journeys, he met a young woman who handed him a hymn book and asked, “What do you think of this hymn I have been reading?”

It was his own hymn! He tried to avoid her question, but knew the Lord was speaking to him. Finally, he broke down and confessed who he was and how he had been living away from the Lord.

“But these ‘streams of mercy’ are still flowing,” the spiritually sensitive woman assured him. Through her encouragement, Robinson was restored to fellowship with the Lord.

Do you need to be restored to fellowship with the Lord?

Verse for today: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16, NIV).

Consider: Matthew 21:28-32; 2 Chronicles 29:8-11; 1 Corinthians 11:29-32.

Action assignment: Write down three bits of advice that you have given or thought about giving in the last week. Have you followed your own advice? Ask God to help you obey the wisdom He has already given you.