Jesus Goes After the One...

“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?” -Luke 15:4 (NKJV)

You’ve probably read the parable before about the lost sheep. And how the man leaves the other ninety-nine sheep to go find the one that was lost.

But, this isn’t just a nice story. It’s the epitome of who God is. It’s a representation of the true heart of the Father and the unrelenting love of the Good Shepherd, Jesus.

And I can attest to it because I’ve seen it first-hand time and time again in my own ministry experience.

My ministry to date hasn’t been the most “traditional” of affairs. I don’t have a fancy office or an affiliation with a church. Instead, it’s just been me and God on the road together. Literally.

Since He called me out of my “regular” life in 2017, I’ve been on a whirlwind adventure with Him. Much like Abraham, I don’t even know where I’m going half the time. I just follow His lead and He always provides somewhere for me to go.

But, what I started to realize along the way, was that these weren’t just random places He was sending me. He may have been using them to “feed” me, like He did with the ravens or the widow as Elijah moved around. But, there was always another side to it - something that He was doing through me for the other person in the situation.

In fact, as time went on, it became clearer and clearer… these moves He was making with me weren’t even about me at all. I was just the tool - the mouthpiece - that He was using to reach the one. And there was always a “one” wherever He sent me.

Once, I ended up unexpectedly (to me) at what I thought was a “random” AirBnB, only to find that God was going after the host’s heart. Not only did we engage in lengthy spiritual conversations for the length of my stay (which extended from 2 days to 2 weeks!), but He was also clearly using me to speak into her about the difference between relationship and religion. He was obviously calling her into a deeper place with Him and while He did use that time to also grow me and give me multiple “downloads,” I knew He had sent me there for her.

At another stop (that again, appeared to be random at first), I walked across the street from the house I was staying in to meet the neighbor’s dog since they were standing in their yard and I am obsessed with dogs. It seemed random and meaningless… until she started talking. As it turned out, she had just moved there by herself and didn’t know anyone yet. And was really hoping to find another believer to connect with. But, it didn’t stop there. Later that day, when I thought I was “randomly” walking over again to ask a question, I ended up interrupting a very emotional moment for this woman.

It was a situation I had been in previously, so without even giving it a thought, I began sharing some of the wisdom God had given me in my own experience. She hugged me and thanked me repeatedly, saying God had sent me to her in just that moment because He knew she’d need someone. And later, when I invited her over for an informal dinner, she expressed how not only was it nice to have someone to connect with, but it was also the first real meal she had had in weeks.

And again, I realized how I had not just randomly ended up at this house stay out of chance. He had sent me there for her.

Perhaps my favorite one though, is when I ended up at a hotel and not only was I not sure that God had put me there (you would think I would learn at some point), but I was actually beating myself up over it. The stress of my crazy lifestyle had started to wear on me and in my weariness, I was starting to think that I had “messed up” and not heard God and was somehow off-track.

In my funk, I decided to get up off the bed and go walk the dogs since they were bored and I needed to stop my pity party. So, I stepped outside and no sooner did I do that, did a young woman (who worked at the hotel and was on a smoke break) start talking to me. At first, it was just small talk about how long I was staying, but it quickly took an abrupt turn when she plainly asked me, “Do you believe in God?”

It startled me for a minute because that’s not a question you hear every day (unfortunately). But, when I said yes and she asked if I could pray for her, I knew God was up to something. Once I sat down with her and we started talking, I realized how much I had in common with this young woman. She had just come out of an abusive relationship (which I also had in my past), so I was able to offer advice from my own experience. And then, when she began asking more spiritual questions about how to hear the voice of God, how to pray and how to share her faith with others, I was able to minister to her as well. We even shared a very powerful prayer time together before we got up and went inside.

I have to admit, I was in total AWE after that one. I just kind of sat there for a little while in amazement of how He works. Not only was I exactly where I was supposed to be, but He had orchestrated the tiniest of details for me to go outside at the exact moment she took her break so we could have that conversation. We ended up keeping in touch and I was even able to baptize her at her request a couple weeks later.

In every one of the instances (and many others I haven’t named), I have seen first-hand how Jesus goes after the one. He knows exactly where they are and what they need. And thankfully, I have had the privilege of being a “tool” that He uses to reach them right where they are. Whether they know it when it’s happening or not.

I share this because I feel the Lord’s heart in Him wanting His children to know just how much He loves them and how much He really means it when He says He will go after the one.

Even if everyone one else was safe and accounted for and it was just you out there alone, He’d come for you.

No matter what you’ve done. No matter where you’ve wandered. No matter how far you’ve gone. No matter if you know you are far away from Him or not.

He will come for you. Because He loves you and He will never give up on you or forsake you. He wants to have a deep, intimate, loving relationship with YOU because you are His child. And He won’t let anything stand in the way of that.

His love is relentless. It is unending, patient, forgiving and unconditional. It is like no other love you’ve ever had or will have. Because as humans, we are incapable of it on our own.

His love - real “true love” - is what you’ve always wanted and needed deep down in your soul, even if you never realized that’s what’s missing.

But, He knows.

He sees you right where you are. Whether you know Him or not. Whether you believe in Him or not. He knows you. And He loves you.

And He will never leave you or forsake you.

Because even if you were the only ONE, He would come just for you.