A Different Kind Of Lost

A while back, my family and I went to some sort of event (can't remember what the event was but, no matter), and afterwards we headed out to our white Ford Explorer. I can remember it was pretty chilly out, and since it was about ten o' clock at night, we wanted to hurry and get home before it got any colder.
My dad was driving. We were in Edmond, our destination Oklahoma City, but when my dad got on the highway, he headed in the wrong direction. A sign along the way let him know where he was, but by this time it was too late to turn around. He had two exits he could have gotten off of, but he missed one and the other was closed for construction.

Needless to say, he was frustrated. Very frustrated. We were all the way in Wellston, Oklahoma.

Lost, angry, and in the middle of nowhere, we all tried not to laugh as he finally found a gas station and jerked the car into the parking lot. He filled up the tank, got a map inside the gas station, and we all got ourselves a snack. Then we drove on, making it home at about midnight.

Now why did I tell you that story?

I want to show you a different kind of lost. When my dad headed in the wrong direction, he had no idea he was in the wrong. He had no idea that once he realized what was happening, it would be too late and he'd wind up in Wellston. He had no idea how inconvenient it would be, how he would running on low fuel, and how it would take him a good hour and a half to get back home. But that's what happened.

That's what it's like to be lost in this world! You don't know there is anything out of the ordinary until it's too late. Then you miss your exits, and it takes a long time to come back around. In the meantime, you are so low on fuel (aka energy) that you don't think you can possibly go on any longer. But picture God as your gas station. He fills you back up, gives you a map, and helps you make it home. When you get there, and you can finally relax and calm your nerves.

This is what God does for us. He finds us lost, broken, and frazzled and brings us home where we become, joyful, thankful, and lost in Him. Bad things still happen, but you are so focused on the new things He's showing you, following Him, and thanking Him for what He's done that nothing else matters. You know that no matter what, He's got your back, and you don't have to worry anymore. To be lost in the world is to be broken and dissatisfied, but to be lost in Jesus is eternal happiness.