Pastor Mark Hopper

By Pastor Mark Hopper

My wife is beginning to worry about me because I keep losing track of things.  Recently, I lost my cell phone and could not find it.  I could not remember where I had left it. It was very frustrating.

I started my search by trying to retrace my steps.  When was the last time I used my phone? Where was the last place I had my phone with me?

The first thing we did was to look around the house.  Did it fall between the cushions on our couch?  Did I leave my cell phone in a pair of pants?

I asked a family member to call my phone number and hope we could hear the ringer somewhere in the house.  No luck.  We didn’t hear a thing.

Then I looked in my car.  Maybe I left it there or it fell under the seat.  No luck there either.

Maybe I left it in my office.  But, a careful search of my office did not reveal anything either.

My son suggested we try to use the Apple phone search app.  I guess this can help guide you to your phone’s location.  A friend of mine had done this and actually recovered phone that had been stolen!  But, apparently my phone’s battery was dead and we were unable to locate it.

Now I was beginning to get desperate.  I have phone numbers and contact information that I frequently use on that phone.  I could go buy a new phone, but how would I recover this vital information?

I finally resorted to prayer.  I genuinely prayed, “Lord, please help me find my phone.”  I know this is not a deep, theological prayer, but I was sincere.  I needed help to find my lost phone.

The answer did not come immediately.  I did not hear an audible voice.  But, later that day a thought came to my mind that I had not considered before.

A few days before, a friend of mine had driven me in his pickup truck to buy some building materials at Home Depot.  Did I have my phone with me when we went to Home Depot?  Could I have left my phone in his truck or at Home Depot?

We drove to his house, knocked on his door and looked in his truck.  We found my cell phone under the passenger seat!  The phone is black and his interior is black, so he had not seen it.  You would not have noticed it for months unless you were specifically looking for it!

I was so thankful to find my lost cell phone.  It really was an answer to prayer.  I was ready to celebrate!

There is a passage in the Bible where Jesus tells a parable about a lost sheep, a lost shekel and a lost son (Luke 15).  There is a celebration at the end of each parable when the lost sheep and the lost coin are found and when the prodigal son came home.

Each of these stories illustrates how much God loves us and wants us to come back to Him.  The passage says that there is a celebration in Heaven every time a child or adult comes to Him.

If you have lost something and can’t find it, you might want to stop and pray and ask God for help.  If you want to start a celebration in heaven, open your heart to God.  Put your faith in Jesus today.

Pastor Mark Hopper is from the Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar, 3255 South Diamond Bar Ave. Sunday services are 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. For more information, call (909) 594-7604 or visit http://www.efreedb.org.