The Unconditional Pursuit: A Call to Belong.
Relentlessly pursuing Jesus? Wandered off the path from Jesus? On the fence about Jesus?
Here’s what’s true: You matter to Jesus. Yes, you.
There are no qualifications for God’s love and pursuit of you. You matter to Jesus; He calls you by name to come to Him, and He desires you to be with Him.
Reread those words: He desires you to be with Him. In Matthew 18:12, Jesus shares this parable:
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?”
It’s not just a story; it's a reassuring reality of Jesus’ love and commitment to every single one of His own. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, never gives up on His sheep. Never. He diligently seeks out the one who wanders.
We all have moments when we feel like the wandering sheep. Sometimes, we feel like we’re straying off the path. But remember this: you are not forgotten, and you matter to Jesus. He cares for the one who has strayed just as much as He does the ninety-nine who stayed close (Matthew 18:13). So draw near to Him today.
Because no matter where you are on your spiritual journey, Jesus is seeking after you, calling you by name to not only follow Him but to be with Him.
How will you respond today?
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, ...
Fulfillment of God’s Promises
Hundreds of years before Jesus, the people of God were in trouble.
They were stuck in life, unable to help themselves, and perhaps beginning to doubt that God would save them. Have you ever felt the same way? If so, you might relate to the original audience of this verse—the exiles in Babylon.
The Babylonians conquered God's people and land, sending them hundreds of miles away. Maybe they thought that God had abandoned them, or that He couldn’t hear their cries. But God is always close—especially when His people call on His name.
Isaiah let his people know that God would provide a way out of Babylonian captivity. And God kept His promise, allowing His people to return home.
Generations later, many of God’s people saw themselves as being in a new exile. They were home, but all was not well. So they remembered this verse and its promise—that no matter how dark or desperate our situation might be, God is able to provide a path out of brokenness, ...