Lost and found (Part 2) 

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

If you read Monday’s blog you might remember that it was about God rejoicing in finding us. I’ve still been thinking about the idea of God looking for us, longing for us to be in relationship with Him. Then the thought occurred to me that in the parable of the Prodigal Son, the son goes back to his father - he doesn’t just wait for his father to come to him. I questioned myself, was I always searching for God, or was I just waiting for Him to turn up?  I resolved to actively look for God in my surroundings, I told God what I was going to do and asked Him to help me to find Him. 

That day I was in central London for a meeting. I was waiting to cross a busy road when a refuse lorry stopped in front of me, the driver smiled and waved me across the road. Amazed, I smiled back and thanked God for this kindness. The next road junction I came to I began to cross when a car suddenly pulled out, the driver stopped abruptly and I cringed apologetically, expecting a torrent of abuse, or at least some sign of exasperation. Instead the driver smiled at me and waved me across the road. How lovely! 

I was a little early for my meeting so I popped into a coffee shop. There was only one other customer. Now, I’m fascinated by people and love “people watching”. The other customer was young, her head was shaved and she had some fabulous tattoos. I began to wonder about her life, what she did, where she lived etc. As she was staring out of the café window onto the London street, she began to pray out loud, asking God for protection for the vulnerable in the city, for light to come into the darkness and thanking Jesus for His mercy and grace. What an inspiration. I felt that God had really shown me that He is present all around me, He is present in people and situations, I only had to talk to Him and look for Him. 

I hope that this experience can encourage you as much as it encouraged me, to keep on intentionally looking for God in our world and asking Him to show Himself.

“…seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you…” (Matthew 7:7)