Watch the Devotion

Based on Luke 15:1-7

“He’s lost.” “They’re definitely lost.” “I think we’re lost.” These are words you don’t want to hear during land nav training. As a war fighter, you need to know exactly where you are at all times, for your own safety, for the safety of your battle buddies, and for the success of the mission. If you don’t know exactly where you are, you have the training to figure it out: “Okay, I see these land markers” or “I can look up at the stars, moon, and sun and figure out where I’m going.”

Not everybody has that skill set. I’m not just talking about orienteering or navigating across the ocean. Sometimes in life people feel lost and honestly don’t know where to go or where they’re headed. I believe that was true after 9/11. For Americans it was unbelievable. Many people in our country were lost—maybe you were among them. When a large-scale attack like that happens, we ask questions—not just of our government, “How did we miss this?”—but deeper questions: “Where was God? Why did he allow this to happen? Can he keep me safe from a future disaster?”

For many of you, this event changed the course of your life, your vocation, your career. You experienced things that human beings struggle to process: trauma, combat stress, failed marriages, failed relationships, addiction, fighting the demons within. At times you’ve had to admit, “I’m lost right now.” Or you know someone . . . and you can tell, or maybe you just know it: “They’re definitely lost.”

If that’s you, Jesus has words for you today. In Luke 15 he told a story about a shepherd who had one hundred sheep in his flock. After counting them he noticed one of the sheep was missing. He only counted 99 sheep. So he left the 99 in the open country and searched and searched until he found that lost sheep. And when he found that one lost sheep, he put it up over his shoulders and marched home. He called his neighbors and friends and said, “Rejoice with me! I have found my lost sheep!”

Jesus is that Good Shepherd. He knows that you are lost. He knows that others are lost. He is concerned. He doesn’t want any sheep to be lost to the wolves, to their depression, to the demons in their minds, to despair. And so he goes after you and the other lost sheep. He wants to bring them back home, back to families who love and forgive, back to church families who love and forgive, back to chaplains and pastors who will listen and love and announce forgiveness and peace and hope in Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who cares for his lost sheep.

Jesus uses people like you and me to search for those lost sheep. When they hear the voice of their Good Shepherd, they can say, “I was lost, but now I’m found by Christ. Now I am found in Christ. Now I am safe with Christ.”

Jesus says that the angels in heaven rejoice when a lost sheep is brought back to his flock. Let’s give the angels an opportunity to rejoice.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd of the sheep, keep a close eye on those who are lost. Send us to go and find them, to speak your words into their ears so that you might touch their hearts. Do as you promise; let none of those sheep whom the Father has given you be lost out of your loving grasp.

As our nation mourns and grieves those lost on 9/11 and those lost because of the war that followed, bring healing and comfort through your Word of promise. Protect our nation. Grant success to the missions of those whose vocation it is to keep us safe from the attacks of our enemies. In your name we pray. Amen.

Written and recorded by Rev. Paul Horn, WELS National Civilian Chaplain to the Military, San Diego, California.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Note: Scripture reading footnotes are clickable only in the web version.