Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder
July 19, 2021
This Week's Anchor
“I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Luke 15: 7 (NIV)
I don’t know about you, but in seasons when I drift away from God I feel an incredible sense of guilt and shame for not getting into His presence like I feel that I should. Over the years, I’ve learned to connect with God’s grace and to have compassion for myself as a mechanism to get me back on the path. Last year, God stepped it up a level in illustrating for me how much He cares for us and will go out of His way to find us when we lose ourselves in the busyness and chaos of our lives.
I’m truly embarrassed to share this story, but what God revealed to me through it is too impactful not to. Last year on the day of our wedding anniversary I lost my wedding band moments before going out to dinner with my husband to celebrate. I was HURT and distraught attempting to look for that ring. During our dinner, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. My hands didn’t feel right without it, and I knew that as soon as we returned to our house, I was going to search every nook and cranny to find it.
We finally made our way back home after dinner and I frantically searched to find my wedding band. I looked EVERYWHERE, but discovering the ring was to no avail. I was certain that it was somewhere within our home, so I did a mental inventory of my day to track where I could have misplaced it. Earlier that day I threw away trash, so I figured I would search every trash can in our house to make sure it didn’t somehow ashamedly made its way there. As I began searching the trash can in one of our rooms, I remembered taking clothing out of sticky packaging earlier that day, and something (or Someone) told me to check that packaging. Lo’ and behold, I see my wedding band glistening, stuck to the back of some good ole Target children’s clothing packaging. I was shocked and relieved, and in that moment I couldn’t help but think of the parables in Luke 15 where Jesus helps us envision how important the lost truly are.
In the parable of the lost coin, a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Like me in search of my wedding band, she lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully. When she finds her lost coin, she rejoices and calls others to share the good news. My experience was very similar. While I was searching for my ring, I felt desperate. Nothing else mattered, and I was willing to do almost anything to find that ring. When I finally retrieved my ring, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and joy, and like the woman, I sure ‘nough called my mama and a couple of friends to let them know about my experience. The other two parables shared in Luke 15 convey similar stories, and all three parables have the same founding themes. First, finding one missing item or person is prioritized—in other words, lost souls (not righteous souls) take precedence. Second, great measures are taken to find what and/or who is lost. If I was willing to get my hands dirty digging into trash cans for a piece of metal, I promise you, God is intentional and determined in searching for us when we are lost. Lastly, compassion and joy are the leading emotions when lost items and people are found—not the condemnation and judgment that we often expect to flood us.
There was a warm moment when I found my wedding band where I felt God speak to me and say “the same way you desperately searched for this ring is the same way I desperately search for you when you lose your way”. He doesn’t want us lost and He is overjoyed when we are found. For some reason, many of us share the sentiment that once He finds us we will be treated worse, but the opposite is true. Like my ring, we are cherished even more because we were once lost and now found.
Like the father in the last parable that Jesus shares, God cares more about the fact that you are found than what you did or didn’t do to get lost. It means more to Him that you are recovered and that your life is changed for the better moving forward (that you repent, pivot and progress). So, if you find yourself lost today, know that He will find you. The process of being found might be scary, painful, and messy, but trust me, the unexpected compassion and unconditional love that you’ll be greeted with will make it worth it.
Reflection
What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?
What has contributed to your sense of feeling lost now and/or in the past? In what way(s) can you show compassion for yourself in feeling lost? In what way(s) have you noticed God calling you back in to be found?
What intention(s) do you want to set to connect and/or reconnect with being grounded this week?
Related Scriptures to Ground You Through this Week
Luke 15: 1-32
Psalms 23: 1-6
Psalms 139: 8-10
Jeremiah 33: 3
Luke 19: 10
Isaiah 41: 10
My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide
A Song of Inspiration
Quote of Love & Liberation
“You can fall, but you can rise also.”
Angelique Kidjo
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