The Guidance of God
Suggested Bible Reading Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. -Luke 15:1-7 (NRSV)
Today's Scripture
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. -Psalm 42:1 (NRSV)
| THE deer, five in all, wandered through the open gate of our large, fenced-in garden. They grazed the leftovers of the season and left - all but a young one who continued to feast on the garden plants. When the young deer realized that it was left behind, it became confused and started running about, looking for the others. In its anxiety, it could not find the gate. Time and time again it threw itself against the fence, only to be hurled back into what must have appeared to be a trap, a prison, a cage. Then a doe came back to the upper end of the outside fence. Walking along the outside of the enclosure, she led the small one to the gate, to freedom, and to their joyful reunion. Our God does something like that for us. We get ourselves trapped and separated, lost, fretful, and anxious - not knowing where we are, not able to be where we want to be. We throw ourselves against walls we cannot break, barriers we cannot climb, and hurdles we cannot jump, only to be thrown back into the prisons we have entered. Then One who cares for us comes to show us the way out. This One walks with us showing care, concern, and love so that we can experience freedom. God searches us out, guides us home, and shares with us the joy of reunion. Douglas N. Akers (New York, USA) Prayer Lord God, shelter us from danger as we place our life in your care. Comfort us in our fear and rescue us from our prisons. Amen. Thought for the Day When we are lost, God seeks us out. | Prayer Focus
Those troubled in mind and spirit |