The third installment in our “Grace Expanding Outward” series
You’re driving down a road you’ve traveled a hundred times. Everything looks normal, familiar, routine. Then suddenly, nothing makes sense. The buildings are wrong, the landscape is foreign, and panic sets in as you realize: I’m completely lost.
We’ve all been there. And if we’re honest, that driving experience is a perfect metaphor for life itself.
The Universal Experience of Being Lost
In our achievement-obsessed culture, we spend enormous energy trying to prove ourselves – to be accepted, to demonstrate our worth, to show we’re “good people.” But worthy of what, exactly? The approval of people who are just as flawed and lost as we are?
This endless cycle of performance leads us into judgment – first of others who don’t meet our standards, then of ourselves when we inevitably fall short. Before we know it, we’re trapped in a pattern of bitterness and shame, hiding our true selves for fear of how the world might view us.
And just like that moment when you look in the mirror and wonder “How did I become this person?” – we find ourselves lost on a road we thought we knew by heart.
Paul’s Damascus Road: A Master Class in Being Found
The Apostle Paul understood this experience intimately. Here was a man with impeccable credentials – a brilliant scholar trained under the renowned Rabbi Gamaliel, zealous for God, confident in his mission. By all external measures, he knew exactly where he was going.
Except he was completely, utterly lost.
Paul was so lost that God had to literally strike him down on the Damascus road, leaving him blind and unable to travel alone. It was in that moment of complete helplessness that grace found him.
In his letter to Timothy, Paul reflects on this transformation with remarkable honesty:
“I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor… But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:13, 15-16)
The Radical Truth About Grace
Notice what Paul doesn’t do here. He doesn’t minimize his failures or engage in false humility. He calls himself “the worst of sinners” – not to seek attention or sympathy, but to make a profound point:
If God can find and transform someone like me, He can find anyone.
This is the radical truth that changes everything: God finds us in our failures, not despite them.
Our culture teaches us that God shows up when we have our lives together, when we’re worthy, when we’ve earned His attention. But grace operates on completely different principles. Grace specializes in lost causes, broken people, and impossible situations.
Grace Always Expands Outward
The beauty of Paul’s story isn’t just personal transformation – it’s the way grace immediately begins expanding outward. Paul doesn’t keep his experience to himself. He becomes, in the words of Oscar Romero, “God’s microphone” – sharing his story as hope for others who feel equally lost.
Every failure that grace transforms becomes a beacon for someone else wandering in the darkness.
Practical Steps for the Lost
If you’re feeling lost today, here are three practical ways to let grace find you:
Start Small: When negative thoughts about yourself arise, pause and remember: “God finds me in my failures.” Pray it, live it, believe it.
Share Your Struggle: Find one trusted person and open your heart. Be like Paul – honest about your failures and your need for grace.
Become Hope for Others: Share how God is reaching into your darkness. Your story of being found might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.
The Runway Lights of Grace
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that “if I’ll only be patient and hold on, all of my falls will be transformed and help me rise to a new level.”
God’s grace operates like the lights on an airport runway – always guiding us home, always helping us line up correctly, even when we’re completely off course.
You may feel lost today. The road may look unfamiliar, and you might not recognize where you are anymore. But here’s what I want you to know:
Grace knows exactly where you are.
And grace specializes in bringing the lost safely home.
This is the third post in our four-week series “Grace Expanding Outward.” Next week, we’ll explore “Grace for All People” and discover how personal transformation leads to global mission.