Are you counted among the living or the lost?

Sometimes the choices we make send us to the land of the lost, a desolate place where God is not invited. When we refuse to welcome God into our thoughts and experiences, it is nearly impossible for us to feel His Presence in our hearts. We cannot be led by Him when we close the gates on His loving guidance.

Consider the story of the Prodigal Son. He had everything a young man could possibly want—a loving father, a rich land to inherit, and a bright future. But was that enough for him? No. He wanted his freedom from the efforts that a strong life requires. He wanted his inheritance immediately, before His father passed to heaven and left his lands and wealth to him. This was unheard of at the time, a great insult to his family. Oh, how his father must have grieved! But he did not deny his son his request. He gave him all that would be his, sooner rather than later, and the son left his family to go to a foreign land, where he lived a sinful life and squandered every last cent. It’s a fair assumption that he did not seek God in the choices that he made, and this separation from God was his undoing. Even the pigs had more to eat than he did! But this is not the end of the story for the Prodigal Son. And it’s not the end of the story for you or me, either.

I know because I am a Prodigal Daughter. In adolescence, I left my family and my God, believing the lie that without rules and boudaries, I would be happier by knowing a wider freedom. I made poor choices that hurt my family and grieved my God, but God never left me. He sent helper after helper to cross my path; He whispered His love for me so that I never forgot, even in my disobedience. The trail was long and arduous at times, but I followed. When I finally felt to my knees and re-surrendered my life to Christ, He held me tightly as fast, and made my paths straight again. It was then that I truly learned the Voice of my Shepherd.

Luke 19:10 says that Jesus Christ came to save those who are weak and lost. In the weakest moments of our lives, we often feel lost. We may wonder about our purposes, our directions, our situations, our futures. Our feelings are human and understood by our Lord. He always has an eye on us, no matter where we are in this life. We can never be so far gone that He will not seek us and find us.

Jesus, known as the Good Shepherd, will seek you out, and lead you back to Him. “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if you lose one of them, does not leave the ninety nine in the wilderness, and go after that one lost one, until you find it?” (Luke 15:4). The outstretched hand may come in the form of a trusted friend or a relative stranger, a pastor or a grocery store clerk, a family member or a colleague. If you feel lost in any aspect of your life—your spiritual life, relationships, finances, career—surrender these concerns to God and then watch for Him to seek you out of the crowd where you stand.

God has the power and the desire to draw us back from the land of the lost to the land of the living. If you walk even a few feeble steps toward him, He will welcome you back to Him with open arms. Just like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son, God will rejoice at your return! “For this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found. And they began to celebrate” (Luke 15:24-32).

Be counted among the living, not the lost. Make time to listen for the Voice of the Shepherd, and celebrate a faithful God and a blessed life!