When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
Luke 8:27-29

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 
Ephesians 6:18

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“Twenty years ago, we were praying for you.”

The words hit me like a ton of bricks, stinging my eyes, catching my breath, changing my perspective of my story forever. 

Twenty years ago, I was as lost as a person can be. Traumatized, broken, chasing every high and avoiding every pain, bent on my own self-destruction. I was a case study of what happens when you lose yourself to the world. I assumed those around me were condemning me, sure I was going to end up permanently broken. I was certain that only judgment surrounded me—those who pretended to see me decided I was too unredeemable to change. 

And yet, all these years later, I heard the rest of the story. 

A conversation with a new friend over brunch shifted my entire view of one of the hardest seasons of my life. This woman had been connected via a campus ministry to a sorority sister of mine all those years ago. Each week, as they served together, they lifted up prayer requests for themselves, their families, and those around them that needed it. Unbeknownst to me, I was lifted up each week by these leaders and sisters. 

Two decades later, I was across the table from this woman I barely knew (but since have come to delight in). Before we met that morning, she had mentioned to my sorority sister, her college ministry friend, that we had connected and I was now a pastor at her church. I can only imagine this woman’s jaw hit the floor the way mine had as this story unfolded. That the desperate woman they had prayed for had met Jesus, experienced freedom and transformation, and now felt the call to help others experience that same freedom…as her full-time job?!

In Luke 8, the man Jesus encounters amongst the tombs was deemed so broken, so unredeemable, that he was condemned to be an outcast in the most unclean and unholy of places—a graveyard. He was considered so gone by his community that the only place he could exist was among the dead. 

And yet, Jesus redeemed him. Jesus declared the goodness, the glory, the hope of this man’s story and cast out all that had held him in bondage. He was not too lost to be found by the King of all creation. 

It is never too late to experience transformation. No one is ever too lost to be found. It may take months, years (or twenty) or a lifetime, but even in the darkest, deadest places, Jesus’ grace and forgiveness reigns.

Next Steps

Do you have someone in your life you’ve thought is “too lost” to experience redemption? Is there someone you need to forgive enough to pray for their redemption? Spend time in prayer, lifting up those people. No one is too lost for our God.