We were sitting on our friend’s porch in Northern Georgia a few days ago. It was a beautiful morning. They live in a cabin surrounded by hills and trees, not far from a beautiful lake. It really is a peaceful place to be, especially since they have a love seat swing that allowed RuthAnn and I to swing gently while taking it all in.
As we were sitting there after a nice breakfast. Someone mentioned how you could not help but see and think about God when you were in such surroundings. I think we all agreed. God seems to be close to us when we are surrounded by the beauty and peacefulness of His creation.
As I sit here this morning recalling this, I could not help but think about another time years ago. I was again in a place where I should have been able to see all the beauty around me, but I could only feel the loneliness of being lost in the woods behind my Northern Michigan home.
The first home I ever owned was very small. Three rooms to be exact, if you did not include the bathroom. It was in a remote area and at that time there were only a few houses around and they were not that close. I was very young when I bought the place, just twenty-one years old, I think. And being a city boy knew very little about living in a place that was surrounded by woods.
At the time I lived there, I was just beginning my Ironworking career and because of the severe winter weather in the Upper Peninsula work could be spotty. This gave me the idea that I should supplement my income by selling firewood. Of course, this would mean I needed to cut trees in the five acres of woods I owned behind my house.
I had been back there many times in the summer and if I stayed on the marked trails I never had any problems. But this time I decided I would need to head into a stand of trees that I could see from my yard and cut what I needed there. No problem, right?
It started out that way. I decided to take a can of spray paint and mark the trees I was going to cut and then bring my chainsaw to cut and a sled to stack and slide the cut pieces out. Seeing it was November, there was only about ten to twelve inches of snow on the ground, so getting around should be easy.
The problem happened when I decided to take a short cut through a tag elder swamp heading toward the stand of trees. At first, I could see them and felt I was headed in the right direction. Then all at once, I got turned around. Before I knew it, I was lost without any idea of where I was.
I had no compass and it was a cloudy day, so I really could not tell North from South or East from West. Soon nothing seemed familiar. And no matter how hard I tried I knew I was only making matters worse. After what seemed like an hour, I decided to stop and clear my mind, get some bearings. But what I did was start to panic.
I began to imagine all kinds of terrible things. First no one knew I was here. My wife at that time was not home and would probably not be until after dark. And in this time before cell phones I had no way to call for help. I thought about yelling but there was no way that anyone could hear me. I was lost and in my mind was going to die and probably not be found until spring or maybe not for years.
As I leaned against a small tree lost and beginning to feel the cold, I felt so alone. There was no one and nothing I could turn to. Tears began to fall without me even knowing. I wanted to pray, but I didn’t know how, and I was sure there was no God to hear me. Lost forever!
Feeling that isolated is a horrible thing. Have you ever felt it? As I sit here today I know that day was the first of many times I experienced such deep loneliness. This was the only time I would say I was physically lost. But physically or emotionally lost and isolated is the last thing God wants for us.
Without God and His Word. Without knowing Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers, I think all of us are lost, if we know it or not. I so wish in those moments in my life when I was lost I would have had this beautiful promise to hold on to, “Do not be afraid. I will save you, I have called you by name-you are mine. When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. For I am the Lord, your God… because you are precious to me and because I love you and give you honor, do not be afraid- I am with you. (Isaiah 43: 1-5 GNTD) If you are feeling alone or lost today grab a hold of these words, let them sink in. Believe, they are real and true!
Back so many years ago, I wandered, cried and blundered my way back to my house. I know the hand of God was on me even though I did not know it. When I saw my house, I experienced a joy that I remember to this day. I was lost and then I was found. Today I get to experience that same joy every day. I no longer feel that loneliness or isolation, I know I have a God that loves me, and He loves you too. I pray if you are wandering in the wilderness today that you can feel His love and know there is always a way home.
Blessings and Happy Sabbath,
John
7/20/18
