Matthew 18:12-13
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
Or in the words Audio Adrenaline “You say, I’d leave 99 // Leave them all behind // To find you, for you alone”.
If you are reading this, you are probably human. We are all human. Which means, we screw up sometimes. We are not perfect.
God knows this. He still loves us. Even when we don’t love Him.
There may have been a point in your life where you found yourself very far from God. Maybe you are at that point right now.
That is when this verse in Matthew is very comforting. God promises to come and seek out the lost sheep. When we wander away from Him, He will come searching after us. If you really think about the King of the World, the God of Heaven coming in search of little old me, it kind of blows your mind a bit.
BUT….
What about the 99??
I have definitely felt like one of the 99 before.
More and more often I see fb posts and blogs and articles about what to do when God is silent and nowhere to be found.
One answer I hear to this question often is that God is silent, often during a tough choice that must be made, because He is fine with whatever you pick as He will help you no matter what and He is leaving the choice up to you.
Another answer we have all heard from “Footprints in the Sand” is when we are having the hardest time in our lives, God is carrying us through it.
Both of these answers are good and can be true when the situation fits that. But what about the everyday grind? What about when you have gone weeks reading His word and crying out to Him but you can’t seem to hear Him. When you feel like He has left you and for no apparent reason.
I’ve been there. MANY times. And I have to say it is HARD.
God leaving us goes against everything we have been taught. God is everywhere. He hears and sees everything. “He will never leave us nor forsake us.” Which is all true!
But maybe today you are one of the 99. Maybe you have been a part of the 99 for a few weeks, or even months.
Have you ever thought, that God is being silent toward you because He is chasing after that one lost soul who is far away from Him?
Now I’m not saying God has left you or doesn’t hear your prayers during this time because He DOES. What I’m saying is, maybe God trusts you enough in your faith to say: “Hang on a moment my child, one of my other children has run away and I must go and get them back.”
Is a moment not like a thousand years to God? What may be weeks and months for us is only a blink of an eye for the Almighty.
Let me say again, He still hears you. He hasn’t truly left you. But He is leaving the 99 to go after the 1. Which would you rather be in that situation? To be honest, even though being one of the 99 is harder, I would much rather be one of the trusted followers of God than the child who has lost their way.
So don’t give up! If you haven’t felt God in months, don’t give up. But instead, pray for that lost child! Pray that they will be found! If that child is important enough for God to leave 99 in search of them, they are important enough for us to be praying for them. Pray also for your fellow 99 who feel the same way that you do. Who are also struggling with the lost presence of their Shephard.
This is not the only reason we do not feel God. Maybe instead He is trying to grow you in a way you don’t understand yet. Maybe He is waiting for you to reach out to Him because in His silence you stopped praying at some point. Maybe this is a time of pruning for you. Or maybe He really is carrying you, but you just can’t see it yet.
But don’t be afraid to be part of the 99. Continue to seek God and pray for the 1 whom God is going after. You WILL feel His presence again. Don’t give up my friend.
