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Listen while you read: "And Can It Be That I Should Gain"1 (Lyrics) |
1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people; that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (NKJV)
My youngest son, Jeff, was already a mover and a shaker at two years of age, when his dad and I took him for his first trip to the ocean. Because he could disappear in a flash, we agreed to keep him in tow at all times. He delightedly waved at the seabirds, dug with his shovel to fill his sand bucket, and was thrilled by all the men carrying tri-cornered surf-nets. He never missed an opportunity to find a new friend.
As carefully as we watched him, after a few hours, we discovered that he was not with either of us. Word spread fast, and people began to scour the shoreline for our little one. My heart sank. The day darkened as the fog rolled in. Like our heavenly Father, I yearned for my child to come home. I stayed put in case he returned, praying for his safety.
In a short time, an eternity passed. Voices muffled together with the roar of the incoming tide and the skree of the seagulls. Everything seemed surreal to me. Then, moving through the fog into the light, came Jeff's dad, holding his little hand. "I found him visiting at a nearby campfire," he called to me. Tears of joy ran down my cheeks. As they neared, my knees buckled into the sand, and with my arms wide open, Jeff ran into them calling, "Mommy, Mommy, I found a new friend." He was completely unaware that he had been lost until he was found. Then, we rejoiced.
After the trauma was over, I saw this incident as a picture of salvation, from my baby being lost, to being found, to finding a new friend. Later in life, while he was lost to sin, he accepted Jesus Christ as His Saviour and Friend.
We are our Lord's own special people, who have victory through His resurrected power by looking at life events and seeing parallels within them to biblical principles. Situations of joy are easy, but times of tragedy or potential tragedy present a greater challenge to see biblical truths that God has provided for us in each moment. As we adjust to the personal shock of what has happened, we can view the situation with an element of spiritual gratitude.
Prayer: How grateful we are, Lord, that You can use very difficult circumstances to show us spiritual truths in the light of Christ's glory and grace. Amen.
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Thank you.
A good word, Karen. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Karen, for a sweet story with a good application.
Been there with the lost child, Karen. Thank you for sharing your hope and strength today.
What a scary time for you Karen. But what a great analogy it is now!
Blessings.
Thanks for using your family’s experience to preach to me Karen.
God bless you for sharing.
My regards to Jeff!
Hi Karen
What a heartfelt story. Please pray that my oldest boy is also able to find such a relationship with Jesus.
Blessings.
HI Karen
Thanks for the story and story style. A vivid image is made in a reader’s mind. The pithy wisdom in the following quote has inspired a fresh look at how a Christ follower interacts with others. “…(he was) unaware that he had been lost until he was found.”
Good Morning, Karen,
AS a parent, I can only imagine how you felt with a “lost” child. I have never experienced that graphic a situation although there has been a time or two that I was sure either I was lost or one of our kids was lost. You weave together so well the lost child of yours and our lost souls without Christ as our savior.
Thank you
(Texas)
Good morning, Karen,
I can feel your worry as you write about something that happened so many years ago, but it is still vivid in your mind. You and your son are blessed that he found Jesus later in his life just like when you found him later in the day after much trauma. I relate “out of the fog” to times when I have doubts in my faith and something or someone helps me to see a different, clearer picture of what is bothering me.
Your prayer sums up our gratitude for life’s experiences which draw us closer to Jesus. May you know that you are encouraging others to think about how their experiences have shaped their faith and grow closer to our God. Blessings.
Hi Karen,
Thank you for your devotional. You have impressed on me how my parents must have felt when I was about 1 1/2 yrs. old.
I went missing and they were terrified because there was a river that went through the back of the property. However, the neighbour across the street saw them searching and asked if they were looking for me. When they said yes he said she’s over here.
I had walked across the street, but that was also a worry because it was the main road, and one of only a very few roads, in the tiny village we lived in.
There may not have been a lot of traffic back then but it was between the General Store and a very popular Inn which was right next door to our house.