You hand over a paper that holds your cause, your hope of setting things right, and then they tell you they never got it, though other statements turned up without trouble. It’s natural to feel a sharp sting, a surge of fear and anger. Your mind runs over every step you took, every conversation, and none of it adds up. And deep inside you rise the words, “This is the enemy’s doing. Lord, stop him now!”
I know that cry, that half-prayer half-shout, when something precious seems snatched away and you cannot see the hand that snatched it. It’s like the archers who shot at Joseph, men who hated him, who lied about him, who left him in a pit and later in a prison. Their arrows were sharp, and they found their mark. Yet the old Jacob, full of years and grace, looked back at all that and sang, “His bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.” The enemy shot, but God strengthened. The arrows flew, but underneath were everlasting arms.
So I want you to sit quiet a moment and remember that the Lord is not absent from this tangle. He knows precisely where that document is. He saw the hand that mislaid it or the eye that may have hidden it. Nothing is lost in His sight. Better still, He knows why this trial has come just now, and He means to do you good through it, even if that sounds like a bitter pill. The sycamore fig never ripens in Palestine unless it is bruised with a rod. There are fruits of patience, of utter dependence, of real communion with Christ that grow only when we are sorely pressed. So I do not call this loss a good thing, but I tell you God can make it a garden of good things for your soul.
And as for the document itself, remember whose ear is never stopped. Men’s ears may be closed; they may not hear your pleading. But God has ways of opening the ears of the deaf. He can speak in a dream, in a sudden recollection, or in the quiet conviction that makes an official go back to a file one more time. The same Lord who brought Joseph from the round-house to the throne can bring a missing paper out of an office drawer when all hope seems gone. Trust Him for that. Ask Him boldly, and then leave your case with Him as with a faithful umpire.
There is a Daysman who can lay His hand on both parties. Jesus Christ, who pleads for you in heaven, is God’s chosen Mediator. He knows what it is to be lied about, to have men twist the truth against Him, to lose, as it seemed, everything before the law of men. But He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously, and the Father vindicated Him by raising Him from the dead. That same Jesus is your advocate. So lean your whole weight on Him, and if the document is never found, your true treasure is not a piece of paper but the righteousness and the peace that He has won for you. Yet I am bold to believe He will help you, for He loves to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is upright toward Him.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, You see this child of Yours in distress over that which is lost and over the sense of injustice that surrounds it. You know where every paper is, and You know the hearts of those who hold it. We ask You, in Your mercy, to bring that document to light again, to clear away what is false and restore what is true. But more than that, we ask You to steady this dear one’s heart. Make known to them right now that Your hand is upon their shoulder, that You are their shield and their exceeding great reward. If the enemy fights, let Your peace garrison their spirit like a fortress. May they taste, even in this trial, that the comfort which comes from Your person and Your blood is sweeter than any earthly vindication. We rest in You, our Stone, our Shepherd, our Daysman. In Your name, Amen.