WRITTEN BY TIM LABRECHE
Not too long ago, Sheila and I spent the day in Omaha. It was a fun day of coffee, shopping, and exploring. One of the things we did was purposefully sought out used record stores. I was gifted a record player for Christmas a few years ago and have decided it would be nice to collect some of my favorite artists’ vinyl albums. I had a small collection from when I was a teenager, but over the years, they’ve either been lost, damaged, or given away.
After searching online, we found multiple stores in Omaha selling new and used vinyl records. We visited store after store. We had a list of what exactly we were looking for. It wasn’t willy-nilly; it was intentional. As we flipped album by album in the racks, we were searching specifically for the bands of my youth and some of my favorite artists now. I’m sad to report that we didn’t find any of the artists’ albums we sought, but we enjoyed the process together. In full transparency, maybe I enjoyed it a bit more than Sheila did!
Do you feel like you’ve done things that make you look lost or damaged in God’s eyes? Given where you are in life, it could be anything.
· It could be stealing five dollars from your mom’s purse when you were younger.
· Maybe it’s a hurtful name you called someone you loved.
· Maybe you’ve wondered how God could allow all of the hurt and chaos that’s going on in the world, and you’ve doubted His love or even His existence.
There are multiple stories and verses in the Bible about how we are sought out. For example, the following scripture came to me as we walked out of the last record store we looked at on that Friday afternoon. It’s recorded in the book of Matthew about a shepherd seeking out one solitary lost sheep.
“What do you think? If someone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go and search for the stray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” (Matthew 18:12-14, CSB)
I know of a story of someone who has struggled with their faith over the past few years. They no longer hold the same beliefs they once did. That person worried their friends and family would no longer love them in the same way. They held on to that false belief and didn’t share it with their friends or family for a long time. Finally, in a moment alone, that person shared what they felt with a family member. They shared how they were struggling with their faith and how they felt everyone would feel differently about them. When they were reassured that wasn’t the case, that there was nothing they could say, do, or think that would make them be loved less, a wave of relief was visibly seen on the person. The falling tears from their eyes washed away the belief that they were unloved in seconds.
That person thought they wouldn’t be wanted because of their doubts. They believed they wouldn’t be loved because they questioned their faith and God. Nothing could be farther from the truth. That person’s friends and family will love them unconditionally. It could deepen their love because they now can see how to pray for and love them in a new way. Just as those close to them love them and will seek after them, you are lovingly pursued by God. Isaiah 62:12 reaffirms that you and I are sought after. It reads:
They will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of the Lord;
and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted. (Isaiah 62:12, NIV)
You are sought after! Just as I intentionally spent time looking for those records that are special to me, our God in Heaven is seeking you out because He loves you, and you are special to Him!
1. Do you feel like a lost sheep, wandering without a shepherd in pursuit of you? I would encourage you to take some time and seek the shepherd out. Be still and in that stillness ask the shepherd to make Himself known to you. He will rejoice and run to you!
2. Pray and ask our Father to show you some lost sheep around you. He uses us more than we think. We have the opportunity to be His hands and feet to those who may feel like they’re wandering without being pursued.
