Feeling Lost?

I grew up in a little town called Pulaski. This town is located in Southwest Virginia along the Blue Ridge Mountain line. Forestation was plenty, and as a young man it fed my adventuresome heart. At most times, I was at ease working my way through the deep woods with my brothers or buddies. We grew accustom to it.    We grew even more than accustom to it, we began to own the woods. We made some unbelievable forts/hideouts. However, in the deepest of forests, or in a territory I have yet roamed, at times a fear or panic would creep in on me, and rest over me like a blanket. Thoughts of being lost and not being able to find my way out became very real. The truth is I was not lost but rather I was more uncomfortable. After I would settle down and work my way past the panic I would immediately remember from where I came, or work out a plan how to get out.

You see, God gives us our emotions to aid us in our life journey. Had I not had those feelings out in the forest it is a very real chance that I could have wandered too far and got myself into a dangerous position. The same goes for our spiritual journey. God will give us an emotion to get our attention, to woo our heart back to His, or to warn us of coming danger. What separates the mature Christian from the immature Christian is an understanding of these feelings. The mature Christian takes these feelings to God and does not  let the emotion take over and become reality. The immature Christian labels themselves based on these emotions and it then becomes their reality. Their heart convinces them, "I am lost!" This only perpetuates the problem and without an intervention the immature Christian indeed becomes lost. I have seen this sad story play out in front of me with people I have known.

Just like any relationship, our relationship with our Heavenly Father has an ebb and flow with some extreme highs, some lows, and some spots right in between. Now that I have a fairly mature relationship with Christ I cannot remember the last real low I have had with God, but currently I am in that in between spot. It is here that my emotions are triggered and the feelings of being spiritually lost began to awaken. However, I am recognizing that God is only tugging at my heart and reminding me to come back to intimacy with Him. I have had this entire week off of work and have been running around non-stop. This did not displease God, in fact it made Him smile to see how active and alive I was, but He knows, as well as I do, that some quality time together is in order. Sometimes God puts us at a low or at an in between spot out of His love and mercy to get our attention. So the next time you feel unsettled or lost remember it is Christ wooing your heart back to His. A scripture I always store in the recesses of my heart is, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Deut. 31:6, Hebrews 13:5) It is impossible to get lost with God as long as we truly return our heart back to Him. Suddenly, I don't feel so lost anymore.