Christian Otome

In Luke 15:4, Jesus says, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” That’s the beginning of the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Following that, there’s a similar parable, now mentioning the loss of a coin. The whole point of both is to highlight the joy of God and the angels when sinners are saved (Luke 15:7; 10).

Luke is also the book that tells us a very interesting story about two of Jesus’ disciples (Luke 24:13–35). After Jesus’ death, they left the other disciples and decided to go to a village called Emmaus—but that wasn’t Jesus’ will for them, and He went personally to meet them. God is still like that today. He comes to us when we’re lost and tries to bring us back to Him.

Sometimes we feel like He couldn’t possibly want us, and that we’re beyond salvation, but that’s just our deceitful hearts trying to deceive us (Jeremiah 17:9). God wants you. If you’re away from Him and you’re reading this now, that’s Him calling you back. If you’re just feeling down, that’s Him trying to assure you that He loves you.

A few months ago, I found myself in a situation where I had to make a very important decision—and it terrified me. I thought to myself, “God, how can I trust myself to make the right choice when I’ve made so many wrong ones before?” So I prayed, and prayed. After a few days, I felt God saying to me: “Don’t trust yourself, but trust Me to guide you.”

About a week ago, I said to my friend, “God loves to meddle in impossible situations, and He hates to share credit,” when he was feeling helpless about a very important situation in his life.