“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people; that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV)

My youngest son, Jeff, was already a mover and a shaker at two years of age, when his dad and I took him for his first trip to the ocean. Because he could disappear in a flash, we agreed to keep him in tow at all times. He delightedly waved at the seabirds, dug with his shovel to fill his sand bucket, and was thrilled by all the men carrying tri-cornered surf-nets. He never missed an opportunity to find a new friend.

As carefully as we watched him, after a few hours, we discovered that he was not with either of us. Word spread fast, and people began to scour the shoreline for our little one. My heart sank. The day darkened as the fog rolled in. Like our heavenly Father, I yearned for my child to come home. I stayed put in case he returned, praying for his safety.

In a short time, an eternity passed. Voices muffled together with the roar of the incoming tide and the skree of the seagulls. Everything seemed surreal to me. Then, moving through the fog into the light, came Jeff’s dad, holding his little hand. “I found him visiting at a nearby campfire,” he called to me. Tears of joy ran down my cheeks. As they neared, my knees buckled into the sand, and with my arms wide open, Jeff ran into them calling, “Mommy, Mommy, I found a new friend.” He was completely unaware that he had been lost until he was found. Then, we rejoiced.

After the trauma was over, I saw this incident as a picture of salvation, from my baby being lost, to being found, to finding a new friend. Later in life, while he was lost to sin, he accepted Jesus Christ as His Saviour and Friend.

We are our Lord’s own special people, who have victory through His resurrected power by looking at life events and seeing parallels within them to biblical principles. Situations of joy are easy, but times of tragedy or potential tragedy present a greater challenge to see biblical truths that God has provided for us in each moment. As we adjust to the personal shock of what has happened, we can view the situation with an element of spiritual gratitude.

Prayer: How grateful we are, Lord, that You can use very difficult circumstances to show us spiritual truths in the light of Christ’s glory and grace. Amen.

Copyright © 2021, by Karen Milam <karenbmilam@gmail.com>, first published on the PresbyCan Daily Devotional presbycan.ca .
Penn Valley, California, USA

Reprinted from PresbyCan with author’s permission