On Getting Lost

God's love follows me when I meander off the path, and pursues me vigorously when I rush headlong in a direction I should not go
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:6 (NLT)
Like a rebellious adolescent, I sometimes try to go off on my own. I don't consciously reject God's care and nurture. But I often think I know best. Yet even then, I am not abandoned. God's love follows me when I meander off the path, and pursues me vigorously when I rush headlong in a direction I should not go. 

After those seasons when I forget to acknowledge God's "goodness and unfailing love," when I finally follow the Good Shepherd back onto the way of life, I realize that I was never really left to my own devices. Just as Christ has gone ahead of me on the path, so Christ has had my back. 

To live off the path without acknowledgment (or even knowledge) of God's goodness and love is mere existence. To realize that I am surrounded by the grace of the Good Shepherd—to live in communion with God—is not just life, but abundant life.

My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
 John 10:10b (NLT)
Prayer after thinking about today's devotion:
Good Shepherd of the sheep, by whom the lost are sought and guided into the fold; feed us and we shall be satisfied, heal us and we shall be whole, and lead us that we may be with you forever
 A New Zealand Prayer Book, alt. (Anglican)
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After your own thanksgivings & petitions, close with the Lord's Prayer.
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