Have you ever been lost? Like epic GPS fail kinda lost? There’s one thing that always makes being lost better … being lost with someone. At least I know I’m not wandering around alone.

I have a great gifting in always being unsure of where the heck I am. I’m an intelligent, yet directionally challenged gal. I know what I bring to the party, the map shouldn’t be it. And my GPS must have some random ghetto, back roads setting because it always seems to take me on the road less traveled. But you know, Jesus told us a thing or two about the road less traveled, so maybe my GPS just loves Jesus.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been lost. And yet here I am, found. Like literally, I’ve always made it back home. Somehow or another the roads always connected and got me to where I needed to be.

And isn’t that life? Isn’t that all of us?

We’ve all been lost at some point. We’ve all been traveling in the wrong direction, going down a dark alley we had no business in. We’ve all failed and fallen short of glory. And here we are today, found. Found, seeking a greater connection with God. Found, waiting to hear directions from him.

Really, that’s what we’re all here doing. That’s why you’re listening today. You would have never clicked play if you weren’t seeking. You are a seeker.

And here’s what I know about seekers, you are more found than you ever knew. You are not only found, you are claimed. You are redeemed. You are held tight in the mighty arms of God and guided by his steady hand.

While you wandered around lost, you should know this … he never once lost sight of you. There is nowhere you have ever gone and no where you could ever go that is too far away from him.

Wherever you have been, he has been right there with you. On the darkest of days and the worst detours of your life, he has been there. The day you messed up, the day you took that first wrong step, the day you said what couldn’t be taken back, the day you got off track, the day the spiral first started … yes, he was there. He was there honey. You were not alone.

And from that very moment, he has been making a way for your return. Your return to the life you were created for. Your return to who he created you to be.

You’ve never been alone. God has always been right there with you my girl. And never once has he watched his precious creation screw up and say “welp, I can’t fix this.” There’s no “welp” with God. There’s never a moment of being without a good option. There’s never a point of God not knowing what he can do next.

There’s always a “gotcha”. Oh, okay you’re going down this road. I gotcha. You’re doing this self-sabotage now. I gotcha. You’re going through this phase. I gotcha.

GOD HAS GOT YOU.

Regardless of where you are, how wrong it is, how far you’ve gone, and how long you’ve been gone, GOD HAS GOT YOU. He’s not stuck in indecision of whether or not to help. He’s not confused on where to go or how to lead. And you need to know this truth my sweet girl, HE HAS NOT GIVEN UP ON YOU.

You know what my GPS does when I make a wrong turn? She immediately offers me the next correct turn.

So, you’ve taken a few wrong turns. You’ve been on a perpetual detour for quite some time now. Are you tired of that life yet? Like literally, are you tired? Are you exhausted from the fight? Are you finally seeing your own way maybe hasn’t been the best way and it’s not because you’re a bad person or there’s something wrong with you, it’s just because you tried to do this on your own.

You weren’t created to do this life on your own. You were created to fail without God.

Ahhhhh, did you hear that? You were created to fail without God … so if you’ve been failing it doesn’t mean you’re broken, it means you’re working perfectly just the way you were created. Let God bring you back home, back to who you were created to be, back to where things will start working again.

You may have been doing this without God, but the truth is, you’ve never been alone. Never. There’s never been a moment of your life he hasn’t been with you. You may have pushed him away, but he never left. You may have ignored him, but he never took his eyes off you.

And just like my GPS will always formulate the next correct turn, so does God.

You may have been running, but God knows exactly where you are, and he knows the way back. He knows how to get your life back on track. He knows how to break this chain, overcome this addiction, fix this mess, heal the hurt and use it all for something good.

You don’t have to return to this place of grace with shame. No, no, no, this place of grace comes with predetermined goodness. Yes, predetermined. God has predetermined to use any mess you could possibly create for good. He has predetermined to use any bad turn you’ve taken for a good journey back home. He has gone before you and while he’s right here with your right now, he is also ahead of you making a way.

You see, God’s big like that. He can be everywhere you’ve been, he can be right where you are right now, and he can be so far ahead of you in pre-determined goodness your mind can’t even fathom.

So, here’s what you can do … you can find peace in your past, God wasn’t shaken by all of that.
You can find confidence in your today as the roads all connect and God leads you somewhere new.
You can find hope in knowing goodness awaits you, follow him there.

God says in Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.”
Yes, he is with you. He always has been and he always will be. There’s never a question in that. Others may have walked away, but he hasn’t. And he won’t. You can stop trying to run, because trust me, he won’t give up on you.

He goes on to say, “don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

And here’s the thing … this isn’t followed by an “if”. I will be your God “if”. I will help you “if”. He will do this because HE IS YOUR GOD. So this means you’re not disqualified. This isn’t about your qualifications to be saved by God and guided by him … this is about who he is. He is your God and therefore he will do what he said he will do.

The Message Translation puts it this way, “Don’t panic, I’m with you. I’ll keep a firm grip on you.”

You are never alone. You may feel lost, but you’ve never been more found. God is holding you and guiding you in this very moment to the goodness he has planned for you. When he gives you the next correct turn, just take it. Just trust his way back. Back to who you were created to be so you can live the life you were created for.

Shame and disgrace does not await you there. Goodness awaits you there. Mercy awaits you there. Everlasting love greets you at the door. And all roads are leading you right back here with divine connections while you were still lost.