Lost & Found
Recently I was at our church building to lead the sung worship at one of our gatherings. I was there in good time with the band to rehearse.
We had a great practise! The band sounded good, blending well, and listening to one another. We had a great AV team, making sure the sound was mixed well and the right words would be projected for the church to sing!
We prayed together, and we were ready, full of anticipation that God was going to move amongst us. And then it happened... my peace was shattered, my faith vanished, and I broke out into a cold sweat!
What caused this ‘Man of God’ to crumble? I had lost my phone! I checked my jeans pockets, my coat pockets, my bag pockets. It was not there. So, what did I do? I checked them all again.
I could feel the panic beginning to rise: Where did I leave it? Was it stolen? What about all the information stored on it? How can I check Facebook?
As the stress levels rose, I tried to think of when I last had the phone and retraced my steps. I remembered that when I arrived at the building, I had used the toilet, so I returned to that place…
To my great relief, there was my phone. I had put it down when washing my hands and forgot to pick it up again when I left. Oh, the sense of relief that came over me. What was lost was found, I was so happy I skipped into the meeting, picked up my guitar and the meeting started!
Reflecting on my ordeal, I was reminded of what I had read recently in the Bible. Luke 15 contains three short stories about lost things being found: a sheep, a coin and a son!
For a moment, I could really identify with the shepherd who found his lost sheep, the woman who found her lost coin and the father, who’s lost (prodigal) son, returned home.
Each one of these stories that Jesus told, shows us God’s heart for people. In the first two stories the person who had lost something went in search of what was missing. When they found it, they were overjoyed!
In the last story, the father lets his son go his own way and do his own thing. Eventually the son’s situation changes for the worse. He decides to humbly return to his family home. When his father sees his son in the distance, he runs towards him and embraces him!
Perhaps you are feeling lost? Good news… God is searching for you, listen out for His voice! Or perhaps you have turned away from God and feel like there is no way back. Wrong. He is looking and waiting to embrace you once again. Turn and move towards Him.
Let me conclude with how Jesus finished the story of the lost son, as this reveals God’s heart…
“…we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader