God Seeks His Beloved
The very words that seem to capture our hearts is when we hear the words daughter. Even when we hear the words “take heart,” it too captures our heart in a way of feeling seen by our Lord. Take Heart, it means to be of courage. These very words I hear are ones my heart desperately needed in my times of suffering, pain and hurt.
And then I experienced those very words again in our heartache.
The Lord was showing me something new in this place that I want to share with you. Though what I am about to share may sound silly and absurd, I will tell you, we cannot put God in a box and think He only shows us more of Him one way. He speaks to us in many ways if we tune our ears and hearts to Him.
Sunday evening an unexpected occurrence happened. We began our search up until 9:30pm, with no trace of our dog to be found. My daughter held tight to his collar and leash with tears rolling down her cheeks.
My husband and I, along with our daughters, drove around calling his name hoping he’d recognize our voice and hear it to come home.
But nothing.
Just mom and dad getting poured on from the rain, our voices cracking, the sun setting quickly and guilt sweeping through mom leaving her to feel utterly down and hurting. Hurting to see I hurt my own daughter, of course not meaning too. Hurting to see her hurt. My thought was, “how could a mom be so selfish and not think of how her children must’ve felt.”
For 4 days we searched the area, made flyers, listed on the social media groups, apps, and called every vet in town, pounds and even asked neighbors if they have seen him.
But while we were driving around causing traffic because of our slow driving (hey we had our emergency lights on to warn others but you know how some people can get behind a wheel) shouting our dogs name saying, “come home its time to come home,” it was there when I caught a glimpse of what the Lord does for His beloved.
“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” Matthew 18:12-13
He seeks, He calls, He goes after His beloved. He does all He can to bring His beloved home to where they belong.
His compassion, His care, His love extends far.
His heart aches when His beloved has gone astray, led away from the green pastures and into the world where its dangerous and ravenous wolves are. Wolves that lurk around in sheep’s clothing, pretending to be a caregiver when only they are hungry trying to fill their appetite.
Our wonderful Father, oh how He goes after that 1 that has gone away from such a beautiful place. Oh how many of us have done this a time or two, more than what we’d like to admit.
We see the “in” things only to have our eyes drift off our creator.
We see the “want” things only to wander off and fill that want when instead we are to seek only above.
Oh how the Lord searches for us, His beloved. Not because of anything we did but because of who He is.
As we searched high and low for days for our dog, I saw how our Father does the same. I heard it clearly. This is how much we are loved. It’s hard to even grasp because we make mistakes. But He sees far beyond that. The calling out our dogs name in hopes he hears, the Lord calls us by name too. Not the name the world gives and labels but the name HE gives.
The patience He has to wait for His Beloved to come back to Him, much like us who are waiting patiently yet eaglery for our lost pet to arrive home safely.
I saw something new in this. Something I knew of but in a different way. The same way that we quickly run after and chase our long lost pet, seeking our lost pet daily, going above and beyond, we too should also be seeking the Lord in all that we do. Pursuing Him wholeheartedly. We wholeheartedly seek Him because this is how much we love Him. Desire Him. Delight in Him. And are so grateful for Him and what He has done for us, through His Son and saving us. It is just as Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Matthew 22:37-38 tell us, “And he said to them, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Loving the Lord with all of our heart, in Hebrew Lebab, our thoughts and actions show the love we have for the Lord. Loving the Lord with all of our soul, in Hebrew Nephesh, our desires should be for the Lord. Loving the Lord with all of our might, in Hebrew Me’od, our resources should reflect the Lord and all that we do.
The same way our dog made a mistake by slipping off his collar and running away, running away out of fear from entering in a store, at times it happens with us too. We allow fear inside only for us to agree and partner with it causing us to stray off from what the Lord already spoke to us. Not realizing God rescued us from fear. He delivered us from fear. We have nothing to fear for He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power love and sound of mind, 2 Timothy 1:7.
The same way I cannot hold my upset-ness towards our dog for running away, it quickly fades, we learn to become slow to anger and more in compassion hoping the safe return and arrival.
I began to see a new community who would come together for such animals to find their home and it somehow lit a light showing me this too is how the body of Christ should be. When one is hurting, we hurt with them. When they are grieving, we grieve with them. When they are celebrating we too celebrate. When one is lost and is need of being found, we stick by in prayer checking in on the people because we become the Lords hands and feet. We step into a community helping one another, extending our hand to one another, caring for one another and loving on one another in the hard, difficult, challenging, painful, moments in life.
But what I noticed is it isn’t always portrayed in such a way. How is it that people can come together in an instant to bring a lost animal home but when something happens to a person, everyone scatters? The Lords heart breaks when such occurrences happen. He created community. He created a home where all will gather to unite and be of union in one mind and of one Spirit. He knows the power of community, and yet, sadly He has shown me this is where it is failing.
The Lord showed me another new thing in this scenario as I began to speak to my daughter with hard tears and snot coming down her face. Her sadness broke her heart and tore mine. Where I was trying to protect her from sadness it ended up making her sad anyway. Oh how pain can hurt and we want to quickly shove it down or ignore it. Or how us mothers want to protect them from experiencing hurt in general. But this wouldn’t be life. Without pain we wouldn’t know joy. Without pain, we wouldn’t know Gods healing and comfort. Without loss, we wouldn’t know the pain and healing that comes with it.
Jesus showed me in this moment to allow my daughter to hurt and ache. This is growth of knowing Him more as her comfort. As soon as she began to weep, I wept with her. Where I was going to tell her to not cry and be sad but instead to be hopeful, the Lord quickly convicted me and stopped me in that moment. I then knew and said to her instead, “I know it hurts. And I am so sorry it hurts. It hurts me too to see you hurting. I can’t tell you to not be sad or to stop crying. It’s okay to feel sad and hurt. But don’t let it override and take you down a hole not wanting you to eat or continue to play softball or attend your school work.”
In that time she just held my hand with a deep breath and I gave her a hug reminding her I love her and that I am here for her.
This is how our compassionate Father is. Filled with compassion for the hurting no matter how small of a matter it may seem. He runs after His beloved when they are hurting or stray off to the wrong path. He pursues them because of His love for them.
And it’s the same with us in this scenario. We are not giving up, we handed it to the Lord and instead have surrendered it all to Him knowing He is in all control of all things and is with my daughter, comforting her in her sweet small pain of life. That pain will quickly be swapped with the Fathers embrace and its the same with us. He seeks His beloved. His arms are wide open. His embrace is one of comfort and healing in all the mess we put ourselves into at times.
I never thought He could teach me something in such a crazy scene of losing a pet who ran off and cannot be found. But I also have learned the Lord has taught me lots of life’s lessons in all the ways of season changes, gardening, home making, even putting gas in the car. It’s Gods way of saying, “my beloved daughter, I am here. Take heart in what you are facing in, release it to me and allow me to heal your pain and mend your brokenness. For I am the Father who loves and seeks after you.”
So let me tell you sweet friend. No amount of what you face or are going through, no matter how big it looks or small it looks, God is there in it all. We just have to stop and see Him in it.
What is stoping you from pursing, seeking and delighting in Jesus in your daily rhythm?
What is distracting you from seeing Him in the midst of what you are facing? Lay it at the feet of Jesus and worship at his feet. What a Savior we have to carry our burdens, pain and hurt.