“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6
Losing Our Way
Have you ever had occasion to traverse some sand dunes? When my brother and I were little, our family often traveled to some dunes in Baja California. It was great fun to jump and play on them, but very difficult to walk on. The incessant winds blew the sand into our eyes, noses, and clothing. If one of us climbed a dune and went over the other side, the other would never know it, because our footprints were erased by the windblown, shifting sands. You could never find your way to the other person unless you called out and heard him answer you.
I’ve been through times in my life where I seemed to be walking on shifting sand. I thought I was following Jesus… until I realized I wasn’t. We’ve all had those “waking up” moments where we suddenly realize that we’re on the wrong path and don’t know where to turn. We aren’t following Him any more, at least in certain areas of our life. We’ve perhaps been temporarily blinded by a storm.
He was there just a minute ago, wasn’t He? Where’s the path? How can we find Him again? We can’t see Him and don’t know which way to turn. We haven’t looked at the map in so long, we can’t remember how to get where we’re going.
Even if a storm has blinded our eyes, has rendered us crippled and disabled, lost and afraid and alone, there is one thing we can do to find Jesus again. At whatever point we come to our senses on the sandy dunes, we can call out to Him. “Help me, Jesus! Don’t leave me here in this spiritual wasteland. I can’t make it on my own. Come and get me!”
This is a prayer He loves to answer. Call to Him while He is near—or even if it seems He is very far away. When He answers, get up and follow Him. Don’t ever let Him out of your sight again.
He didn’t leave you or forsake you. He was just waiting for you to realize your need and call out to Him, so He could show Himself again!
“Father, keep us in Your hands. And if we stray or lose sight of You, come and get us, for we can’t live apart from You. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.”