Are You Feeling Lost? Here's a message that will encourage your heart.
By Dianna Hobbs // Inspiration // EEW Magazine Online
Credit: EEW Magazine Online
As a young girl in a family of meager means, our household’s epic coin searches meant the world to each of us. These treasure hunts, though essential and nonrecreational, still sent a jolt of joy through my veins.
With legs supercharged with adrenaline and excitement, I’d zoom toward my father panting and wide-eyed exclaiming, “I found some money!” He’d look up approvingly from the table where he sat filling paper coin holders to take to the bank in exchange for dollars.
Holding up the loot—whether shiny silver or dull copper—was a moment of triumph because I knew the significance of each find. Every quarter, dime, nickel, or penny I discovered buried deep beneath couch cushions or hidden away behind a piece of furniture meant we’d be able to stock cabinets with food and keep the lights burning a little longer.
In an environment where money was often scarce, our family placed a high value on loose change. On numerous occasions I witnessed my father leaning down to rescue an abandoned coin from the ground and offering up thanks to God for the increase—however small. Once, he pulled the car over to the shoulder of the highway where he thought he saw money blowing in the wind. Dad kept his eyes peeled for provision at every turn.
As childhood memories of scavenging for change linger, the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15:8-10 resonates. A woman who had ten silver coins misplaced one. Hence, she lit and swept the entire house until she found the missing coin before calling her friends to celebrate the recovery. The unnamed woman’s coin, however, was worth far more than the American quarter, dime, nickel, or penny. A drachma—the Greek word for coin—was the equivalent of a full day’s wage and was obviously valuable.
For a moment, imagine this woman forfeiting the search altogether and saying instead, who cares about one lost day’s wage? I still have nine other drachmas. Such a response is highly unlikely. Who would disregard a prized possession without an afterthought?
Now consider how God values His creation. So precious are we to the Lord that He seeks us out when we are lost. This is the true meaning of this parable as well as the stories of the lost sheep and the Prodigal son.
So, why did Jesus tell these stories?
He was responding to the legalistic Jews’ complaints about Him spending time with tax collectors, sinners, and other lost souls drawn to Jesus’ teaching (Luke 15:1). How dare He fraternize with such disgraceful beings, thought the judgmental, self-righteous religious leaders. What despicable company He keeps!
What a short-sighted conclusion to draw considering Jesus’ ultimate mission to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus isn’t like the self-righteous Pharisees. Whenever we go astray or get lost in life’s confusing maze, He seeks us out then celebrates our restoration. Never will He abandon, forsake, or disregard us.
Whenever you are lost, God will find you.
Perhaps you are feeling lost in some way. You may be spiritually flailing, or life hasn’t panned out the way you hoped and now you don’t know what to do. Either way, Heaven’s search party is out looking for you with a mission to get you back on track, make you whole again, and shower you with the blessings you are entitled to as a child of the King.
You may feel lost but you aren’t. You may feel abandoned but you aren’t. You may feel overlooked but you aren’t. You may feel insignificant but you aren’t. You may feel like all hope is lost but it isn’t. God has an amazing restoration plan for you. Just don’t give up on Him, because He never gives up on you.
God, thank You for reminding me that you love me and care for me and will never abandon me. In times when I feel lost, help me feel Your love surrounding me as You guide me back to a place of safety and restoration. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Dianna Hobbs is founder of EEW Magazine Online and CEO of Empowering Everyday Women Ministries — a 501c3 nonprofit organization that shares the gospel and provides humanitarian aid to the hurting. She is also the writer of Your Daily Cup of Inspiration and executive producer of the companion podcast. Follow Dianna on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube. Sign up for her free ministry newsletter here.
