The National Crime Information Center reported that in 2023, over 89,000 missing persons cases were entered into the system. Many have since been resolved, but thousands remain unsolved. Just think of the families that live in the tension of unanswered prayers and unopened doors — clinging to any thread of hope that their loved ones might one day return. They raised awareness in the communities, filling social media with pictures and pleas, hoping someone could shed light on their loved one.
A similar story occurred on New Year's Day in 2012, when a 9-year-old Nicholas Simmons left his home in Rochester, NY, in the cold of winter and vanished. The family did everything they could to find their boy, from prayer to pleading in the community, hoping someone, somewhere, would see. Four days later, in Washington, D.C., a photographer captured a haunting image of a young man curled up near a heating grate, wrapped in a blanket, which was published in USA Today. A friend of the Simmons family saw it and recognized Nicholas immediately. Ultimately, the boy was found alive but disoriented and was reunited with his family. No one could fully explain to date what had happened or why he left, but his safe return was nothing short of a miracle. It shows what persistence means; never giving up hope, defined; God was divinely involved with providence.
I know what it means to feel lost — I've felt it deeply while searching for a fellow sailor at sea. Long hours gazing over endless waves, hoping for a sign of life, praying that this time, we find them. Sometimes we did. And sometimes, after days of searching, we had to let go without the answers we hoped for. I've experienced the pain of not finding what your heart longs for. But I've also seen the quiet strength that hope carries, even when it's heavy. Because even in the depths of being lost, there's always a chance to be found. Romans 14:8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. When we belong to the Lord, there is always hope! This truth is deeply woven into Luke 15, where Jesus responds to those who criticize Him for spending time with the wrong people — the outcasts, sinners, and the lost. He tells parables — one about a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to find the one who wandered, and another about a woman who turns her house upside down to recover a single lost coin. In each case, something of value has gone missing, and someone sets out with urgency to recover it. Guess who that someone is?
Jesus isn’t just teaching a life lesson. He's revealing the character of God. Because in the shepherd and in the woman — He is telling us about Himself. He's the one who searches. The one who refuses to forget. The one who goes, and keeps going, until he finds what was lost.
The best word in the bible? That word is — until. It’s not passive. It means movement with purpose. In Greek, the word translated ’until’ — ‘heos’ — carries the idea of persistence that doesn’t quit. It means the search doesn’t stop at convenience. It keeps pressing, even through disappointment. And this persistence reflects how God seeks us. Like Nicholas' family, who never gave up. Like the community that kept watching. Like the moment of recognition that changed everything. What some might call a coincidence, faith calls divine direction.
Scripture puts it this way in 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slow in fulfilling His promise, but is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
God doesn’t abandon the lost. He waits. He watches. He searches. Until. Even when we wander, stumble, or turn away from God, He never gives up on us—He seeks us out until we are found. Is that wonderful?
And then, we experience the tremendous reward in being found. So maybe you’ve felt lost. Perhaps you're praying for someone who is a spouse, family member, friend, child, or grandchild who needs Christ. Countless circumstances exist that we all hold onto in the hope that God will find those who are lost, as with Charles Colson, a convicted man, sentenced to prison, where ultimately he saw God in the last place he would expect. IN addition, depression and mental illness can be forms of lostness. J. C. Penney, the famous storekeeper, was seriously depressed as a young man. He tells of being confined in a mental hospital, suffering such severe depression that the doctors had given up on him. One morning, on hearing a commotion down the hall, he put on his bathrobe and found his way to the chapel, where some people were singing about putting your trust in the Lord. Penney was the son of a Baptist preacher. He knew all about Jesus and decided once again to trust Him. His whole life changed, and from that point until He died at ninety-five, the Lord was the center of his life. Lost and found. Here’s the promise — the God who searches never stops. And neither should we.
Let me ask you:
- Have you ever been the one who was lost and brought back home?
- Can you still believe in restoration when everything around you says it’s impossible?
- Have you ever seen light flicker in a place you thought was condemned to darkness?
- Have you dared to hope again after everything said you shouldn’t?
- Can you believe that silence isn’t God’s absence, but space for a deeper work?
- Can you trust that your most painful chapter isn’t the final one?
Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost — but now am found. Once blind — but now I see.
Those words were penned by John Newton, a man deeply aware of what it meant to be found. In 1748, caught in a brutal storm at sea, Newton — enslaver, merchant, wayward soul — cried out for mercy. His life was spared, and it became a turning point. Over time, he left the slave trade, became a clergyman, and emerged as a voice for abolition. Reflecting on his own redemption, he wrote that hymn. Not from theory — but from the experience of being utterly lost and fully found.
And then there’s the prodigal son — the one who squandered everything on reckless living, only to find himself empty, dirt-poor, and ashamed. Expecting judgment, he returned — only to find a father running toward him, draping him in grace, and throwing a feast.
Think of Peter — bold one day, denying Jesus the next. The weight of guilt crushed him. But Jesus came back — not with rebuke, but restoration. Three denials met with three affirmations of love. That’s mercy.
And the thief on the cross. Condemned, broken, out of time. No resume of faith. No lifelong devotion. Just a moment. A cry. Jesus, remember me. And the response? Today — you will be with me in paradise.
Salvation has never been about how far you’ve traveled — but Who comes to find you.
So how do you step into this mercy? Let me offer a simple path:
1. Recognize that you’re lost — spiritually, emotionally, or otherwise.
2. Believe in the character of God — that He is kind, patient, and eager to restore.
3. Turn back — repent, even haltingly.
4. Receive His grace — you don’t earn it, you accept it.
5. Embrace restoration — let God rewrite your identity and your story.
6. Walk forward in gratitude — your life becomes the song of your rescue.
7. Share the story — help others find their way back too.
Friends, the love of God doesn’t lose interest, doesn't give up, and doesn’t wait at a distance.
It searches. It calls your name. It goes... until.
Whether you're the prodigal, the runaway, the doubter, the drifter, or just utterly weary, know this — the Father has never stopped looking. He's still coming down the road to meet you. And grace is ready to welcome you home.
REPEAT: We were lost, but now we are found. We walked in darkness, now we live in light. Grace has called us home. Love has welcomed us in. We are found by God. We are never alone.