What comes to mind when I say the word ‘lost’? Maybe it has to do with when you don’t know where something is, if something/someone has wandered off, perhaps you’re thinking biblically and you’re thinking of ‘lost’ as someone who is unsaved.
There was a TV show called ‘Lost’ and the whole premise was about a group of people who crashed on an island and no one knew where they were. They were supposed to be flying from Australia to L.A. but the plane had gone off course before the crash. They weren’t where they were supposed to be nor did they even really know where they were.
In John 4, Jesus talks with the Samaritan woman, who was lost. Geographically, she knew right where she was. But on the inside, she had crashed way off course. We know that she had had five husbands (and probably five divorces) and was now living with a man out of wedlock. And we know that she was fetching water alone during the midday. It is likely that she was outcast and/or ashamed. Put yourself in this woman’s sandals. How do you think she felt? Probably depressed, unloved, like a failure. She had probably given up trying to serve God. She was lost.
Do you ever feel like you have crashed way off course? You don’t even know where you are anymore or how to get back? Take heart! When we are lost, He guides us.
Psalm 23:1-4 – The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
“He leads me beside sill waters” “He leads me in paths of righteousness” “You are with me”
Our God, our Shepherd, is right there with us longing to show us the way.
But how does he guide us?
Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path.
Have you ever been out camping at night and turned the flashlight off? It gets pretty dark. I can tell you, you feel way more lost and alone in complete darkness. But when you turn the flashlight on, you can see where you’re going and what’s around you. The Word of God may not be a floodlight that illuminates every bit of the path for the next mile, but it always gives you what you need to take the next few steps.
The encouragement doesn’t come from you being able to find your own way, but that God knows the way and wants to walk with you, guiding you through this life. The Samaritan woman was lost, but after spending time listening to Jesus, she seemed to be back on the right track.
Today, may you spend time listening to the guidance that God provides through His Word.