I walked away and put down what I was working on. I was sure when I came back, I would remember where I put that darn thing. Sure, enough I got distracted and about 1 hour later I was on the hunt for the item I put down.

Have you ever done this? You’re doing something and you hear someone call out your name. You stop what you are doing; put it down and swiftly get to the person. When you come back, you cannot seem to find the item you were working on. Eventually we all find that missing item and with a smile on our face congratulate ourselves for the discovery.

Sometimes that feeling of being lost can come over us from nowhere. We really aren’t lost, just a feeling we all can experience once in a while. When we have these moments just like the joy we feel when we find the item we lost; Jesus’ heart explodes with joy when He finds us in every moment of our day.

Matthew 18:12-13 assures us of this Parable of the Lost Sheep¹² “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? ¹³ And if he finds it, I tell you the truth; he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! ¹⁴ In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

God’s pursuit of each one of us is endless. This love reflects the immense value He places on every person. The heavens rejoice over every found person, not just a select few. We never have to believe we do not measure up.

We know that Jesus instructs us to care of one another like the shepherd cares for his sheep. If we see someone who could use some encouragement or a hug today; show them how much they are loved and how much God loves them too.