Lost & Found

I recently took an umbrella to church because the threat of rain looked imminent. I’m sure that I sat it down to chat with someone, because when I left and walked outside I remembered that I had brought it with me. I looked in places where I remembered I had been. I didn’t find the umbrella. It will probably be in the lost and found by now. Some friends of mine always misplace or lose their keys or wallet. I have learned that I have to have a routine that keeps me from misplacing things. I still occasionally lose something.

The people of Israel have been lost and in captivity for several years and Jeremiah was there speaking on behalf of the Lord when they were captured. He is now there to relay the message of rescue from the Lord. Check this out…

⁴ “In those coming days,”
    says the Lord,
“the people of Israel will return home
    together with the people of Judah.
They will come weeping
    and seeking the Lord their God.
⁵ They will ask the way to Jerusalem
    and will start back home again.
They will bind themselves to the Lord
    with an eternal covenant that will never be forgotten.

⁶ “My people have been lost sheep.
    Their shepherds have led them astray
    and turned them loose in the mountains.
They have lost their way
    and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.(Jeremiah 50:4-6 NLT)

I needed to be reminded that when I’m lost, The Lord finds me. He directs my path back home. I’m sometimes lost in my own self-centered ways. I’m lost in my own choosing. I hate being lost. I hate being alone and afraid. I hate being helpless. I hate paying the consequences for my sin.

When I turn to the Lord, I find help, hope, Presence, forgiveness, grace and mercy. Hope replaces helplessness. Presence replaces loneliness and fear. Forgiveness directs me back home. Grace and Mercy can change some of the consequences of my sin.

I have been lost and I’ve been found.  I like being found and being of value to the Lord. He treasures me and dwells inside my heart.

Pressing On!

Dwayne