James 5:19-20
My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
On June 9, 1995, six-year-old Morgan Nick asked her mother’s permission to catch lightning bugs with friends at a Little League ball field in Alma, Arkansas. Morgan’s mother, Colleen, reluctantly agreed. That was at 10:30 p.m. At 10:45, Colleen Nick went searching for Morgan. Other children told her that Morgan was seen emptying sand from her shoes near the family car and talking to a “creepy” man. When Colleen got to the car, Morgan was gone. Seventeen years later, she is still missing… but Colleen and countless others are still searching.
On September 12, 2012 - Morgan’s twenty-fourth birthday - Colleen Nick was in Onia, Arkansas, just outside of Mountain View, as a three-year-old child who had wandered from home some 30 hours earlier was located. The little boy was kneeling at the edge of a pond, caked in mud. He unassumingly told the rescuer, “I’m playing.” That he was found some 3+ miles from home was amazing. That he was physically unscathed, save a few scratches, was truly a miracle. Hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement personnel searched the thickly wooded, snake-and-critter-infested forests of the central Arkansas Ozarks for this child who was wearing only his Spider-Man underwear.
The child wandered off… and many went after him. Through tears and shouts of praise and “God is so good,” the rescue workers celebrated the safe return of this little guy. There is still hope that someday, somehow, now 24-year-old Morgan Nick might be rescued, as well. Her mother’s efforts are a testament to faith and perseverance. And this is what God asks of us… not only in the rescue of lost and abducted children in this physical world… but in the realm of those who have wandered away spiritually - gotten off track, and lost their way.
You probably know at least one person who fits into this category. I’m not asking you to pass judgment on others or lord over them how good and righteous you are. But surely you know someone you can lift in prayer and say, “LORD, I see So-and-so struggling. Help them to get on track and find their way back to You. If there is a way You can use me to help them, show me what to do.” If you know someone who could use gentle encouragement and guidance – and you feel close enough to this person to do so – by all means, speak a word of love and hope to them. You can also offer redirection to others by simple acts of kindness. Sometimes all the other person needs to know is that someone genuinely cares about him/her… and that you have not deserted them.
Prayerfully ask God to show you how to work in the lives of others, for His glory. When you are clearly led to take direct action, be bold and trust God to work out the details. When you feel hesitation, take that as a cue from God to proceed more cautiously. Prayer and a smile NEVER go out of style or lose effectiveness! Often, this is all God requires of us… that we pray for others… offer kindness… and never stop caring.
Who do you need to lift in prayer today? Where are you led to offer a hug or a smile? Is there someone you have been tempted to write off… to toss in the towel and say, “I give up on him/her”? Isn’t today a great day to redouble your efforts on their behalf… to say, “LORD, this precious child of yours has gotten lost, but I will not stop seeking him/her on Your behalf.”? Just as with the toddler lost in the woods whose location was uncertain… the value of finding him was sure. Just as Colleen Nick and others continue to believe that Morgan will be found, we must trust God to bring those who have wandered from Him back home once again. Are you doing your part in the rescue efforts?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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