Testimonies

Lost Pen, Lost Thought

by Terry Barlow
07/18/25
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I had lost one of my favorite pens and began ransacking my corner of the living room in desperate search of it. Coming up empty I decided to commit the situation to God and trust Him to restore the pen. Nothing changed in the immediate, but I knew that God knew exactly where that pen was and that trusting God meant believing also in His timing. It was an opportunity to demonstrate my trust by resting in Him with the confidence that my pen would be restored soon enough. And indeed I did find it when I wasn’t even looking for it at the time. My thoughts also get lost like my pens. Some significant idea I meant to record but never got around to doing. In those moments I know that God knows the thought for which I am ransacking my mind this time, thrashing around in my consciousness to locate it. Again, I can quietly ask the Holy Spirit to bring it to mind. And, again, usually it doesn’t happen right away, giving me another opportunity to trust and rest, knowing that the thought or idea is not really lost, since God knows what’s on my mind and what has been on my mind better than I do. He will “recirculate” it when I least expect it because He loves to surprise us and see us rejoice like shepherds finding their lost sheep! Our thoughts are like sheep (or goats sometimes) that we shepherd.