We visited this canyon around Bryce Canyon, Utah a couple of weeks ago. A sign nearby showed an old farmer who had homesteaded the region with the quote, “It was one heck of a place to lose a cow.”

Scripture
See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Ezekiel 36:14

Observation
God’s people bruised in exile in Babylon lived with the trauma that their lives were ruined and it was their own fault that it had happened. Their condition was not unlike many who discover part way into life what life is all about.

I’ve seen divorced men in their 30’s coming back to church only just discovering what marriage is about.

I’ve worshiped with prisoners in prison who have faced themselves in a concrete prison wall and found God in a locked room.

I’ve seen it in myself when I reflect over 25 years of full-time ministry and wince over the mistakes I’ve made that showed me at times things inside of me that I didn’t want to see.

Because Jesus is our Savior as well as our Lord, we find him not just in the highest place in the throne of lordship authority, we also find Christ saving souls at the bottom. God’s people found him in exile. We will too when we look into the mirror and finally see the person who has been giving us the greatest problems in life.

Listen to the voice of God to those swimming in the grounds at the bottom of the coffee pot of life, “See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you.”

The Lord says two things to us when in the basement of our failures; when at last we discover how to live life but have no life to live.

First, when nothing seems to be happening the Lord is up to something. He cares about us. He is paying attention to us. The people who thought God had forgotten them in fact had their picture on God’s refrigerator door. Okay, okay, so the Creator of the universe probably does not have a Frigidaire, but get the picture. We really matter to God, and when he sees us at the bottom looking up he begins working on plans to rescue us.

Second, God makes our finish line his starting point because change begins wherever we chose to turn around. Any road can become homestretch if we just about face in the right direction. What a wonderful gift repentance is! I marvel at this gift from God. No animal can repent. Dogs can’t. They can make you feel like they have repented but deep in their doggy hearts they still want to do it their own way. Forget about cats. They don’t even pretend to repent. But humans stand alone as the only creatures who can change from the inside out. Only God can do that and repentance is a beautiful thing when it happens.

Application
God is here and he is willing to start with me right where I am. He brushes past my failures and says to me, “See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you.”

Prayer
Father, today I know that you are gracious and merciful, but only my repentance allows you to show that grace and mercy to me. Lord I believe that you care for me and are attentive to my need. Let change begin in my life right where I am no matter the condition around me. Amen.