You know the saying – you always find things in the last place you look.
Kind of an odd saying, isn’t it? After all – if you’ve found “it” – whatever “it” is –
why would you keep looking?
And then there’s the song – Looking for love in all the wrong places“.
And the words that got this train of thought going – All of my rescuers are gone, long gone.
What does it all mean?
Glad you asked. Keep reading to find out.
I was listening to my iPod (I know – it’s old technology. But it’s in my car – always plugged into the power outlet so the dead battery doesn’t matter – and it works! So I have no reason to look for something else to replace it. Anyway – All of my rescuers are gone, long gone. It’s from a song called Hazard, by Richard Marx.
The first verse goes like this –
My mother came to Hazard when I was just seven
Even then the folks in town said with prejudiced eyes
That boy’s not right
Three years ago when I came to know Mary
First time that someone looked beyond the rumors and the lies
And saw the man inside
So apparently what people see on the outside doesn’t match what’s on the inside.
Not so good if one’s looking for something.
As the song goes on – Mary gets killed – and everyone thinks this boy did it.
And the lyrics continue –
I think about my life gone by
And how it’s done me wrong
There’s no escape for me this time
All of my rescues are gone, long gone
So now the boy’s looking for something – or rather someone – a rescuer.
And his life’s all messed up –
and there’s no escape from paying the penalty for that messed up life,
even if the price is to be paid for something he didn’t actually do.
He’s done enough other wrong things that he gets blamed anyway.
Which brings us to looking for love in all the wrong places.
For this one – just the title is enough. No lyrics needed.
Let’s just change one thing.
Make that Looking for Love in all the wrong places.
Did you catch that – Love instead of love.
Looking for love is looking for a person.
Looking for Love is looking for God.
Let’s compare that with All my rescuers are gone, long gone.
If he’s looking for people to rescue him – yes – they’re long gone.
However – were he to look for God to rescue him – God’s not long gone – not even gone – but right there waiting for the boy to ask to be rescued.
But he’s looking for a person – not looking for God – so he doesn’t ask God to rescue him.
And there’s the problem with looking for love in all the wrong places.
First of all – it’s looking for the wrong thing. Looking for a person, not God.
Second – if you’re looking for the wrong thing – chances are you really are looking for love in all the wrong places.
The chances of finding something / someone when looking in the wrong places are slim and none. And Slim’s not home.
Having said that –
God – Love – can be found everywhere. If we really want to see Him.
Look at the sequence I just went through.
I heard the song Hazard – with All of my rescuers are gone, long gone.
Which led me to looking for love in all the wrong places.
Which, in turn, led me to the saying you always find things in the last place you look.
Maybe because I actually do look for God everywhere – I can see Him – or rather He shows Himself to me.
But remember the comment I made about
Kind of an odd saying, isn’t it? After all – if you’ve found “it” – whatever “it” is –
why would you keep looking?
He found me – I found Him.
But I haven’t stopped looking.
In fact – if anything – I’m looking more than ever.
And He’s showing Himself more than ever.
Let’s check out just a few verses to see how this all works –
First of all, from Genesis 49:18, where Jacob is blessing his sons. As part of that blessing he says –
Ge 49:18 “I look for your deliverance, O LORD.
Looking for deliverance. Looking for a rescuer. Looking for Love. In the right place.
And he’s talking about the future here – not just looking once, finding it and stopping there.
And remember where I said – He found me – I found Him.
In Leviticus, we see God telling His people –
Lev 26:9 “ ‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. 11 I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.
So we see God (Love) is going to be with them. Delivering them. Rescuing them.
And not just once – but over and over.
Don’t believe the over and over part?
Check this out from Deuteronomy, where God is telling His people that they will turn away from Him – and that when they call out to Him (Looking for Love) He will be there for them.
Dt 4:25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and provoking him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
As God said – When they need a deliverer – a rescuer – He will be there for them.
Not long gone. Not gone at all. But waiting for them to look for Him – to look for Love.
Let’s fast forward an example from the New Testament.
For instance, one of many places where Jesus says not to worry – Matthew 6.
Mt 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?
Mt 6:28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
This is a pretty good list of things that Jesus says will be provided for us.
And then He says – 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
So Look for Love.
Look anywhere. It doesn’t really matter where. The key is to look.
Rev 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
If we look – He’ll be there.
Oh yeah – there is that one other thing – If anyone hears my voice and opens the door –
you have to look like you mean it – and really mean it. Don’t just go through the motions or fake it.
Once found – we still need to hear Him – and open the door.
After that – once Love is found – and I mean really found – the rest will come. You’ll know what to do.
So –
Don’t assume your rescuer is gone, even a little gone.
He’s waiting for you to call to Him – Hear Him – Open the door for Him – and He will rescue you.
Remember – your rescuer will be Love – not love.
Not to say that people aren’t important – they are.
And it will likely a a person who leads you to Love –
But the real rescuer will be Love.
And don’t worry so much about where you look.
If you look – you will be found by Him.
And once you are found and have found Him –
Don’t stop.
Keep looking.
There’s always something to learn from Him and about Him.
And the more we learn – the more we want to know.
Are you looking for Love?