GOD HAS SENT YOU

I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  I sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth. -John 17:15-19 CSB

When Nick and I were first married, there were no apps for navigating. We read paper maps that blocked the entire front window of the car when unfolded, and that you could never, ever fold back like they had originally been. They made trips so stressful! When devices came along, like the Navman, I felt so relieved, as though we’d been delivered from some kind of navigational marital bondage. With one simple purchase, we experienced a peace we had never known. 

But it was not really a Navman. It was a Navwoman, because the device voice was a woman with a velvety, smooth way of talking: “At the roundabout, take the second exit,” and when you missed the exit, she’d say in this breathy voice, “Rerouting…rerouting.”

Initially, I thought she was great, and I named her Matilda. But when I began to notice that Nick just willingly obeyed everything she said! He didn’t get irritated when she told him that he’d made a mistake or to make a U-turn. He didn’t get grumpy or talk back. He just silently complied. I was shocked. I gave the man two children and he listened to her directions more than me! 

Well, I took care of Matilda. When she would begin to tell me to turn left in that buttery smooth voice, I would say, “No.” And I would drive straight past the turn. I loved it when she got all confused and her screen would turn snowy white. 

Despite my crazy reaction to a machine, I can’t deny that she was comforting at times. If we were lost, she knew how to get us back on track. If we were in an unfamiliar city, she knew how to help us navigate one-way streets and construction detours. Wherever we were, she knew how to point us in the right direction—no matter how badly we messed up.

Isn’t that what God wants to do for those who are lost? Isn’t that why we’re sent to a lost and broken world? LOST is not a state God wants anyone to remain in. As you go about your day, look for who you can help re-route. Look for the lost God has sent you to see.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I know it is your will that every person come to know you and know the depths of your love. I lift __________________ up to you, praying for him/her to be found in you. Use me, Lord, to help him/her be rerouted, for him/her to give themselves to you, entrusting his/her heart fully to you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Adapted from 20/20: Seen.Chosen.Sent by Christine Caine. Copyright © 2019 by Christine Caine. Reprinted with permission of Lifeway Women. All rights reserved.