Have you ever been lost? I don’t mean just taking one wrong turn but lost to the point of panic. I had one of those experiences many years ago when I worked for my uncle’s swimming pool business. I mainly worked in the business office during the summer while in college but occasionally I would make deliveries or pick up supplies. One such summer day I had to pick up supplies from both the McLean Virginia area (near DC) and then something from a supplier closer to Baltimore. I figured that there had to be a quicker way than what someone had told me and ended up smack dab in the middle of DC! I drove around a while in neighborhoods that were questionable. Keep in mind this was long before GPS and cell phones. The more I drove, the more I panicked to the point of starting to cry.
Then I looked up and saw someone in another vehicle pointing fervently at a traffic sign indicating that I should take that road. I did and I got back on the road to my destination! I have to think he was sent by God and I’ll never forget it. He may have seen my tears and the sign on the truck that told him where the business was located. No matter—I was very thankful.
Being lost is scary. We’ve all heard the desperate cry of a child that has gotten separated from Mommy. Or the fearful voice of a parent who can’t spot their child immediately.
Do you ever feel lost and confused? Do you feel empty, like something is missing, or don’t know where you are going?
What a comfort it is to know that no matter how lost we feel God never stops looking for us and reaching out to us. Do you find that difficult to believe? Maybe you think that He is too busy for you, has more important people to look for, or that you don’t deserve it because of something you’ve done.
The following parable (story) that Jesus tells is a favorite of mine. I had a great aunt that used to tell me a variation of this story when I was a child. The details have faded but I can still hear her voice as she told me.
“ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’
So he told them this parable: ‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’” Luke 15:1-7 (ESV)
If a shepherd would leave his ninety-nine sheep who are already safe to go look for that lost one, don’t you think that God, Your Creator, would seek you until you recognize Him and are safe in His care?
When have you experienced God seeking you? Thank Him for being a God who looks for His lost children.
Have a great day!
The above is inspired by the book “Caught Off Guard” by William P. Smith