Lost Sheep

How much does God want us to be with Him, and what lengths does He go to to reach us and bring us back into His fold?  We know that God doesn’t want to lose any of us to the evil one, and He really does love us all no matter how bad we are, or how much we attempt to ignore Him.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells us the Parable of the Lost Sheep and we soon realize how much God really loves each and every one of us. Jesus tells us of the shepherd who has 100 sheep, but one of them is missing. The shepherd leaves the 99 safe sheep and goes to search the wilderness for the missing sheep.  Would it not make sense to just look after the 99 sheep and let the lost one either find its way back home, or succumb to the elements?

But no, that is not God’s way, nor the way of the shepherd.  Each and every sheep is important and so the shepherd must go find the lost sheep and God must try to bring back all the lost souls.

Up until 2014, I was a very lost sheep. I lived my life as I wanted to live, and didn’t care about anyone, or anything.  It eventually cost me my freedom as I ended up in jail for seven months.  It cost me a lot more though, my family, my reputation, and my job.  Living life my way wasn’t working, but God had a plan.

As I’ve told you before in My Journey Begins God guided my hands to pick up His book from the jail library and from that point on, His attempt to bring me back into the flock was underway. In fact I honestly believe that it began much sooner than that. I believe He [caused] allowed my arrest and jail sentence to bring me back.

But once I had The Bible in my hands, the real work was beginning.  He was able to reach into my heart directly and make me realize the changes I needed to make in my life as He brought me closer and closer back into the flock.  By the time I walked out of jail in November 2014, I was a different person and I was almost back with the rest of the sheep.

But sheep still stray from the flock, so without constant care and love, its possible to get lost again.  But He has a plan for that too.  He surrounds us with people who help to guide us in the correct manner, and to support us though our weak times.  I’ve found a great support group in my church family, who welcomed me from the first time they met me.

My past doesn’t matter to them, they see me as the person I am today.  I play an active role in our church and continue to grow every day.  God wants all of us to be with Him, and He’ll do almost anything to reach us.  We just need to be listening.

Are you a lost sheep?  God is trying to find you.

God Bless

---

I’m now going to make a special appeal. If you or a family member suffers from mental health issues and you’d like to share your story (anonymously), please use the form below. All information will be kept confidential and will not be shared with anyone. My goal is to set up a resource for people who are reaching out for help. You can be part of the solution and maybe save a life.