HOW TO FIND YOUR WAY BACK WHEN YOU ARE LOST

My daughter lived in Alaska, and then she moved back to Tennessee for a while. She packed up all of her belongings and drove across the country, taking the scenic route along the way. Her cat, Thomas, didn’t come with her in the car since it was going to be such a long trip. Instead, he flew to Tennessee on an airplane a couple of weeks later. A year passes by, and then my daughter decides that she is going to move back to Alaska. But what about the cat???

That is how Tom, the cat, came to live with me for a while. When Joe and I go anywhere, we have a housesitter that comes and stays at the house to take care of the animals. We called her and told her that we were on our way home from our trip. Once we got home, I let the dog out to potty, and then I went in search of the cat.

I looked everywhere for him, but I couldn’t find him. He was a timid cat, so at first, I thought that he was hiding from me. So, I looked in all of the hiding places that he usually would go, but the cat was not in the house. I went outside with a flashlight and called and called, but I couldn’t find him.

Finally, I called my daughter to report that her cat was missing. Here was the issue…she was flying back to Alaska the next day. My daughter adores that cat, and I wasn’t a bit surprised when she canceled her plane reservations and showed up on my doorstep the following day. She searched all day for him, but Tom would not come to her.

Then, she came up with a plan to see if Tom was still around and where he was hiding. She got some game cameras, set out some food, and then we waited. The next morning when she looked at the footage from the cameras, there was Tom on our front porch eating the food that she had left out.

Now that she knew he was alive, she felt better. But, now, we still had to catch him. On the third night, we were standing in the dark, looking out a glass door, when we saw he sneaking past the door. She went out the front of the house, and I went out the back of the house, so we had him trapped in the bushes. Do you know that stinking cat would still not come to either of us? She had to get down on her knees while I shined the flashlight so that she could see him, reach through the hedges, and drag him out of his hiding spot.

Once he was in her arms, he was happy to be back home. BUT why wouldn’t he come when we called? Was the cat scared to come out of hiding? Are we more like the cat than we would like to think?

There are times when I start to feel like I am like Tom, the cat. I’ve strayed out of a door that was left cracked open, and then once outside, it was time to explore. Exploring can feel exciting for a while, but then you get lost and can’t find your way home. When the cat was lost, I kept thinking, “why wouldn’t the cat come when he was called?” “He was loved and well-fed, he had a warm roof over his head, and the people calling him were familiar to him.”

Genesis 3:8

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Remember when Adam and Eve hid from the Lord in the Garden of Eden? They knew that they had done wrong by eating fruit from the forbidden tree, so they tried to hide from the Lord. Didn’t they know that the Lord loved them? Had the Lord provided everything that they needed? Or, were they ashamed and feeling like they had let the Lord down?

When I am feeling lost, I know that I feel like I have let the Lord down. I feel ashamed, and I am probably trying to hide also. How can you hide from the Lord? He knows everything!!! Psalms 139 reminds us that there is no hiding from the Lord.

Psalms 139:1-3

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. ² You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. ³ You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.

Psalms 139:7-12

⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? ⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, ¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; ¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

When my daughter finally had her cat back in her arms, she was so happy. She didn’t scold the cat for straying away from home. And, she wasn’t mad that he didn’t come for three days while she was worried sick over him. It didn’t matter to her that she had canceled all of her plans so that she could come and search for him. Instead, she rejoiced at having her precious baby back home.

Luke 15:7

⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

So, when we sin over and over again, we need to come back home to the one who is calling for us. He knows already that we are lost, and He knows what we have done. There is no reason for us to hide since the Lord already knows. Instead, we need to come back to the Lord, ask for forgiveness, and it will be given with open arms.

To God Goes The Glory!

Have A Blessed Day!