After I had finished writing it, I realized that not only was it about God looking but was also my own testimony on how God found and saved me.
So today I stand before you with gratitude in my heart and humility in my spirit. I am not here because I was the smartest.
Not because I was the most disciplined.
Not because I always made wise decisions. I am here because God found me.
If the truth were told, there was a time in my life when I was not pursuing holiness. I was not chasing righteousness. I was not waking up every morning asking, “Lord, what is Your will?” But heaven had its eye on me.
The Bible says in Luke 19:10,
“For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Notice the order, He came to seek first.
Before saving, there was seeking. That means before I knew I was lost; He knew where I was. There was a season in my life when I thought I was doing just fine. Maybe outwardly I looked stable.
Maybe I had plans.
Maybe I had ambitions.
Maybe I even had religion. But I did not have surrender.
It is possible to know about God and still not know God.
It is possible to attend church and still not belong to Christ.
It is possible to speak Christian language and still have an untouched heart.
Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way.” My problem wasn’t that I hated God.
My problem was that I wanted my own way. And that is the essence of being lost living independent from the One who created you.
There was an emptiness I couldn’t explain. I tried to fill it with distraction. I tried to fill it with alcohol.
I tried to fill it with violence.
I tried to fill it with relationships. But no matter what I added, something was still missing.
Have you ever smiled in public and felt hollow in private?
Have you ever laughed with people but cried alone?
Have you ever felt successful and yet unsatisfied? That was me.
Ecclesiastes says God has “set eternity in the hearts of men.” There is a space in every human soul that only God can occupy.
And when He is absent, everything else feels temporary. Looking back now, I see what I could not see then. God was planting seeds.
A praying relative
A childhood memory of Scripture
A sermon that lingered in my mind
A moment of conviction that would not leave Maybe someone here today is the result of someone else’s prayer.
Long before I ever prayed sincerely, someone may have been praying for me.
John 6:44 says,
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” I wasn’t randomly thinking about God.
He was drawing me. The conviction I felt wasn’t coincidence.
It was mercy. There came a time when I could no longer ignore the stirring in my heart. I would lie awake at night and think about eternity.
I would hear a sermon and feel uncomfortable.
I would see hypocrisy in myself and feel exposed. Conviction is uncomfortable but it is kindness. God could have left me alone. He could have let me drift.
He could have let me sink deeper. But He interrupted my peace.
Revelation 3:20 says,
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock…” That knocking became louder.
Through circumstances.
Through conversations.
Through disappointment.
Through conviction. Every testimony has a turning point.
For some it is tragedy.
For others it is failure.
For others it is simply exhaustion from pretending. There came a moment when I realized: I cannot fix myself. Maybe I tried to improve.
Maybe I made promises I could not keep.
Maybe I said, “Tomorrow I’ll change.” But self-reformation without surrender never lasts.
Psalm 34:18 says,
“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.”
It was in brokenness that I became honest. I admitted I needed God. I remember that moment well. My first time back in a church since I was a teenager Now aged 45. It wasn’t polished.
It wasn’t eloquent.
It was simple. “Lord, I need You.”
And when I prayed that prayer something shifted. Not the outside world.
But the inside of me. The guilt lifted.
The weight eased.
Peace entered.
Romans 5:8 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
He didn’t wait for me to clean myself up.
He met me in my mess. That’s when I understood: Grace is not a reward.
Grace is a rescue.
The next day, life looked the same but I was different. Scripture felt alive.
Worship felt personal.
Prayer felt real. I wasn’t performing religion anymore.
I was experiencing a relationship with God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says,
“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature”
I wasn’t perfect overnight.
But my direction changed. My desires shifted.
My hunger changed.
My convictions deepened. Salvation is instant.
Sanctification is progressive.
God began working on layers of my heart. Pride had to go.
Bitterness and anger had to be surrendered.
Habits had to be broken.
Fear had to be confronted.
Hebrews 12:6 says,
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth”
Correction became evidence of belonging. He wasn’t condemning me.
He was shaping me.
Let me be transparent. There were moments after salvation when I stumbled. Moments of weakness.
Moments of doubt.
Moments of frustration and anger. But here’s what proved God had truly found me: He didn’t leave.
Philippians 1:6 says,
“He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
I discovered that God was more committed to my transformation than I was. And his grip is stronger than my failures.
God did not find me just so I could sit safely in church. He found me so I could testify. He found me so I could reach someone who felt unreachable. He found me so I could stand here today and say: If He found me — He can find you.
Your past is not stronger than His grace.
Your mistakes are not deeper than His mercy.
Your shame is not greater than His love.
Maybe someone here today feels that same stirring I once felt. That tug.
That conviction.
That awareness that something is missing. That’s not guilt.
That’s invitation. God is still seeking. He is walking these aisles.
He is knocking on hearts.
He is calling names.
You don’t have to clean yourself up first.
You don’t have to fix everything first. Just respond. Just say, “Lord, I need You.” Because the same God who found me
is ready to find you.
I stand before you not as someone who achieved salvation,
but as someone who was pursued by grace. I was lost.
He found me. I was wandering.
He called me. I was broken.
He restored me. And if He did it for me — He can do it for you.
Heavenly Father, Before I ever looked for You, you were looking for me. Before I ever whispered Your name, you knew mine. Before I ever understood grace, you were extending it. Lord, today we stand in awe of a love that pursues us.
A mercy that chased us.
A patience that waited for us. When we were wandering, you were watching.
When we were rebelling, you were reaching.
When we were broken and unaware, you were working behind the scenes. Thank You for not leaving us to ourselves.
Thank You for not giving up when we resisted.
Thank You for loving us before we loved You.
Father, as I have shared this teaching and testimony, let every heart feel the tenderness of Your pursuit.
Let those who feel far away realize You have never been far from them.
Holy Spirit, move gently through this place.
Convict with kindness.
Draw with compassion.
Reveal the Savior. And may we leave here humbled by this truth:
Before we ever looked for You,
You were already seeking us. Amen.
