This is Grace

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 65:1

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me…

Verses like this make me want to laugh with joy.

How do you find someone you aren’t looking for?

In Luke chapter 15 there are three parables. I think we can say they are all the same story told from three different perspectives. The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the Prodigal Son each tell the story of something (or someone) that is lost and is found. Each of them actually uses that very language:

I have found my sheep that was lost… (Luke 15:6)

I have found the coin that I had lost… (Luke 15:9)

He was lost, and is found… (Luke 15:32)

We can say with certainty that in the first two stories, the lost sheep and the lost coin, the sheep and the coin weren’t looking to be found. The shepherd and the woman did all the heavy lifting. The shepherd went into the wilderness and searched for his sheep. The woman got down on all fours and shined a light in every dark nook and cranny to look for her coin. Only in the case of the Prodigal Son can we suggest that that which was lost was involved at all in his being found. Even then, we have to acknowledge that had it not been for Providence wrecking his life, he would have remained lost. Had he remained comfortable, he would have remained lost.

All of this is simply to say that we should rejoice in the grace of our Lord Jesus who saves us when we weren’t looking to be saved.

Back to my question. How do you find someone you aren’t looking for? How is God sought by those who aren’t asking for Him? The Spirit of God works through Providence to create the right circumstances to cause us to seek Him. All of your seeking is a sign that you were being sought.

shepherd seeking