I’m going to be honest, when it comes to the topic of lost sheep, I could speak on about a thousand different things. I mean, I am the minister of our Celebrate Recovery ministry, and each week we see hundreds of people go from lost to found. And believe me, we celebrate that.

Just recently, we celebrated another 15 individuals who completed the step studies and are on the road to a lifetime of recovery and leadership for our ministry. Our step studies will start again on March 24 with new people coming in and starting the process of recovery from all kinds of things.

We pray each week for the one who is still at home, thinking they don’t have a recovery area to work on. We pray they will give recovery a try and “come home” to the church and be part of this amazing ministry. And we celebrate each life that comes in the door. Change is happening.

I have personally experienced going from lost to found—being the one who was wandering and headed in the wrong direction. It wasn’t long after I got out of jail for drugs, in the late summer of 2004, that I felt like giving up. I felt like no matter what I did, I didn’t stand a chance.

It was on the day of the Alpha Holy Spirit retreat that my life changed. I had missed most of the retreat because I had to work until noon, and before that, bill collectors had spent the morning screaming at me. I went to my sister’s house to cry, and when I left her house, I had a choice. I could turn left and go back to the world of drugs and destruction, or I could turn right and go to the church and give the last of the retreat a try. Something made me turn right and go to the church.

When I arrived, my small group came running up to me in celebration. “You’re here, you’re here!” they exclaimed. I didn’t understand why they cared or what the big deal was. I knew I was lost and exhausted. That’s when they told me they had just prayed for me … the whole Alpha retreat had prayed for me. Pastor Mike looked at me and said, from the front, our lost sheep is found.

After that, I never went back to the life of destruction. I knew I was relentlessly pursued by the Holy Spirit that day.

When you have been found and set free from a life of destruction, you never ever have to go back. Whom the Son sets free, is free indeed—and that, my friends, is cause for major celebration.

Reflection:

  • Have you ever felt like you were lost and didn’t feel worthy of being saved?
  • Have you ever felt the power of prayer over your life?
  • In what ways have you experienced God’s joy over a lost soul being found?