Have you ever been lost? Were you truly lost, somewhere you had never been before and not sure how to get to a safe place? Were you hoping someone would come find you? Are you in a place like that now?
I’m sure most of us have been lost at some point in our lives. We were in unfamiliar territory and not sure how to get back to the interstate. We had gotten off the main road for one reason or another and gotten turned around.
Perhaps you were moving to a new city for a new job. You were trying to find your place of work. Maybe you were trying to map out a route from your new residence to your new workplace. This was much more challenging before we had GPSs on our smart phones.
Being lost can cause a host of mixed feelings. We may feel scared, anxious, unsafe, and helpless. We can quickly spiral downward to the point of inaction, being frozen in place not knowing what to do. The fear of the unknown can be paralyzing.
We all experience being lost, even in small instances, throughout our lives. For example, we may be looking for a specific office in a building, not knowing exactly where it is. We may be following directions to a family farm, going down unfamiliar roads. We may stop to ask for clarification of directions.
Here is some good news for our spiritual walk—God is searching for us. He is like a shepherd looking for his lost sheep. He is gathering us together so He can protect us. He will continue to gather us, not only in this short life, but for eternity. He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14).
Notice God had long ago determined to gather those who follow Him from around the world. Ezekiel lived 500-600 years before Jesus was born. His prophecy of bringing God’s children together may appear to be for the Jews. Yet, that would be a narrow-sighted view, much the same the Jews would have had more than two-thousand years ago. God isn’t limited by time. His prophecy can span thousands of years.
I pray we all understand God is searching for us. I pray we turn to Him to be found. I pray each one of us trust God to gather us into His arms to keep us safe for eternity. God is calling out to you. Hear His voice. Turn to Him. He is the Good Shepherd. God will protect you. Trust Him.
Ezekiel 34:11-13a “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land.’”
Marty Pressey 