Search and Rescue

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off . . .  (Psalm 139:1)

David opens his psalm with a truth most people – even those in church pews – just don’t get. David knew without a shred of doubt that his loving God was focused on him. 

And because the Scriptures transcend time and culture, it is completely accurate to say God lovingly focuses on you. That truth of God’s focus on each individual is demonstrated throughout the Bible. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son in Luke 15 are only a few of the hundreds of examples. Let’s look at the lost sheep in verses 4-7:  

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”

It is the Shepherd’s joy to search for and rescue the lost sheep. “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus tells us. “The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. (John 10:11-15)

Are you SURE the Good Shepherd is interested enough in you to search for you? Or do you think He’s given you up for lost? 

Those are important questions because your answer tells you a lot about your relationship with Jesus. If you are not sure Jesus is still – right now – interested in you, if you think He has given you up for lost – then you do not know the Jesus of the Bible very well. 

Look back at that parable of the lost sheep. “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

Whoever you are, whatever you’ve done, and no matter how often you’ve done it – the Good Shepherd is searching for you. He is interested in you because He loves you. 

He really, really loves you. 

And if you’ve read this far, it’s because something inside of you is stirring you to believe that.

The stirring you feel is the Holy Spirit’s gentle voice. And you can believe Him when He says to you: “I’ve found you. Come on home.”