FOUND – What once was lost now is found and there is great rejoicing.

Found

Pastor Calvin Cook

December 12, 2025

Here in the Allegheny National Forest, with it’s lake, streams, forest, hills, and valleys, it is not unusual to hear of hunters, backpackers, hikers, wilderness voyagers getting themselves turned around and losing their way. When we hear that someone is missing, there is always that sinking feeling that stirs something deep within us. A quiet unease settles in. We watch and wait for the word of the lost being found. Joy and celebration come when they have been found, relief turns into rejoicing, because what was lost has now been restored.

Scripture tells us that God understands this kind of joy intimately.

Jesus says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep” (Luke 15:6). Again and again in Luke 15, Jesus describes the celebration when what was lost is found—a sheep, a coin, a child. These stories are not just about our relief when we find God; they are about God’s delight when He finds us.

We often speak of “finding God” as if God was lost or hiding. But the truth is, God has never been lost. We have!  Living with hearts distracted and drawn into the lustfulness of the world is what causes this feeling of God being absent or missing. What happens then is searching in places and for things that can never fully satisfy. And yet, God comes after us—patiently, persistently, lovingly.

We read in Zephaniah this week “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you… He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

That image—that God rejoices, even sings, when we are found—echoes beautifully in the song “Found Faithful” by John and Melissa Helser of Cageless Birds. The song is not loud or vibrant in the way we might expect. Instead, it is honest, tender, and surrendered. It reminds us that being found is not about perfection, but about presence. God proves Himself faithful, even when we feel weak, wandering, or worn.

Scripture promises, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). And when that moment comes—when our hearts finally turn toward Him—we rejoice. But even more astonishing is this truth: God rejoices too, over the lost that has been found. The scripture of Jesus leaving the 99 to find the one speaks to the individual concern God has for each of us individually.

Today, rest in this assurance: you are found, fully known, deeply loved. And the Kingdom of God is not silent about it. When hearts of those who are lost finally turn toward God – there is great rejoicing but even more profound, is the astonishing truth that God rejoices too.

My prayer this morning is for those, maybe it is even us who feel lost, alone, and wondering around through each day. Know in this that God is waiting to rescue you, all you have to do is say “Here I am, I surrender all.”