Seeking What Is Lost

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10, NIV).

It was a beautiful, crisp fall day in October. Some friends live on five acres, and it was my turn to help them tackle a few tasks on a long to-do list of outdoor projects. We spent the next several hours pulling weeds, preparing a compost pile, picking up branches, and a number of other things in preparation for winter.

As the sun went down in the early evening hours, we decided to finish up for the day. While thanking the Lord for a beautiful day, yet knowing the job wasn’t done, we made plans for continued work.

I showed up the following afternoon to some bad news. The truck keys had been lost! The keys must have been laid on the side of the truck and were now nowhere to be found. The task of searching five acres for a set of two small keys felt like a daunting task. We put out a few feelers to locate a metal detector, and we eventually found a friend who was willing to lend us his. However, he wasn’t available for a few hours. Not wanting to waste precious daylight, we headed out to begin searching for what had been lost.

We decided it was best to follow along the path left by the truck tires, and we ended up in the back field again. If you’ve ever searched for keys in a grassy area, you know it’s not an easy task. As we continued to seek, with little luck of finding what had been lost, we both started to feel a little frustrated. Suddenly, my mind began to drift to Jesus. He is the ultimate seeker and saver of the lost. Luke 19:10 reminds us: For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (NIV). I can’t help but wonder if Jesus doesn’t get frustrated with us at times, too, as we are seeking the desires of our hearts in all the wrong places. Thankfully, impatience is not a character of the Son of God.

Have you ever lost something, or felt lost yourself, and not known where to turn? Are there specific desires of your heart that you find yourself seeking, yet the answers seem so elusive? Yeah, me too. When that happens, it’s easy to want to give up, begin to believe the lies of the enemy, and settle for less than God’s best. I’ve found that to be true as I’ve sought to be obedient to His plan for my life, especially when it doesn’t align with what I’m asking of Him at the time.

As we spent time searching that afternoon, several questions came to mind that I’d like you to ponder with me today:

1. Have you equipped yourself with, and are you using the best tools possible to help you find what is lost?

2. Are you frequently taking inventory of the things in your life that are “counterfeit” and may be leading you in a direction opposite of what the Lord wants for your future?

3. Has the search for what you desire to find been elevated above a relationship with Jesus?

4. Have you encountered specific obstacles that have stood in your way of coming to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Those are some heavy questions, but I believe they are worth asking. We live in a fallen world, surrounded by the schemes of the enemy. Whether you’re searching for a lost set of keys or seeking answers to a question that has lived in the depth of your heart for a very long time, it’s important to remember Ephesians 6:11: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (ESV). The enemy wants nothing more than to bully us to the point of giving up on seeking what is lost.

When you’re feeling frustrated, turn to Jesus. When you’re feeling hopeless, turn to Jesus. When you’re feeling fearful, turn to Jesus. When you’re faced with a task that seems impossible, turn to Jesus.

I’m thankful for a Savior who continues to seek when we are lost. I am thankful that, even when we aren’t aware of His presence, He continues to walk with us as we search for things that can only be found in His love for us. His character is grace, mercy, and unconditional love for all of His children, despite our sometimes wayward actions.

As I take us back to that afternoon of searching for the keys, I am reminded that the Lord always equips us with exactly what we need. When we focus on His love and choose to trust Him, He will guide us along the path that leads us to what we’ve been looking for all along.

And, yes, we found the keys!

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