Where's God when I feel lost?

When I was in Year 10 at secondary school, my class went on a 2-week camp in the Victorian high country. The big event on this camp was a 3-Day Hike.

We were allocated groups of 4 people, organized our own packs, tents and food, and given a map of the route were to take – with the campsite for each night marked on the map. Although it was winter, the day started out clear and sunny … a great day for a hike.

By mid-afternoon, one of the groups had injured his ankle and we had to slow down.

With one guy injured and the other 2 in our group with English as their second language, it was down to me to get us to safety. No pressure. I’d had this growing sense we weren’t where we needed to be, and a check of the map confirmed my worst fears. We found an alternate spot to camp for the night and hoped to start afresh in the morning.

Little did we know that the camp leaders had been out overnight looking for us once they discovered we weren’t at our Night 1 rendezvous. So, when we set out the next morning, we soon heard the school’s 4WD coning to pick us up and make sure we got to our Night 2 rendezvous.

Sometimes, we don’t know we’re lost. Sometimes we do. Either way, behind the scenes, God is working to bring us back to where we’re meant to be.

One of the most powerful Biblical images is in Jesus’ story of the Lost Son. Day after day, the father is watching and waiting for his son to come back home. Then, while the son is still a long way off, the father runs to meet him and greet him with an almighty hug and kiss. Prepared to become one of his father’s servants, he is instead welcomed home. No matter how far we think we’ve gone or what has happened, we can always come home. 

The welcome will be pretty special.

RY