Lost & Found

Have you ever looked around at your life and thought, "I should feel happier than I do?"

For many young Christian professionals, your twenties can be confusing. You land the job, move to a new city, build your network, and start accomplishing the goals you've worked toward for years. Yet even as your career grows, you may still wrestle with a quiet question: Is this all there is?

In this episode, we explore why success often fails to satisfy our deepest longings and what Jesus teaches in Luke 15 about our identity and worth. Through the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, we discover a life-changing truth: being lost never diminishes your value.

If you've been feeling restless, behind, or uncertain about your purpose, this episode is a reminder that your identity isn't something you achieve—it's something you receive from Christ.

In This Episode

•  Why your twenties can feel confusing—even when life looks successful 
•  The hidden difference between career success and lasting fulfillment 
•  What Jesus teaches through the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin 
•  Why your value never changes, even when you feel lost 
•  How to stop looking to your career for an identity only Jesus can give 

What You'll Learn

•  Why achievement can never answer the deepest questions of your soul. 
•  The difference between feeling lost and actually losing your worth. 
•  How Luke 15 reveals God's relentless pursuit of His people. 
•  Why many ambitious young professionals confuse success with identity. 
•  How resting in Christ brings the security that career accomplishments never can. 

Key Takeaways

•  Feeling lost doesn't mean you've lost your value. 
•  Your location in life may change, but your worth in God's eyes does not. 
•  Success is a wonderful gift, but it's a terrible foundation for identity. 
•  God pursues people long before they ever begin pursuing Him. 
•  Your career is part of your calling—but it was never meant to become your identity. 

Bible Verses Mentioned

• Luke 15:1–10 — The Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin 

What is NextGen Kingdom Leaders?

Helping young Christian professionals grow in their work, leadership, and faith

Hey everyone, welcome to the Next Gen
Kingdom Leaders podcast, where we help

young Christian professionals grow
in their work, leadership, and faith.

This week, we're talking about the
idea of being lost and how some of us

aren't lost geographically necessarily.

Maybe we're lost existentially, and that
this stems from where we place success.

Enjoy

Have you ever noticed how
strange your twenties can be?

On paper, everything looks like
it's moving in the right direction.

You landed the job, moved to a new
city, maybe you have a new relationship.

You're building your network, maybe
checking-- you're even checking off some

of the goals you dreamed about in college.

But somewhere along the way, a question
starts creeping in: Is this it?

Not because life is bad, but because
something still feels unsettled.

I think a lot of young professionals
aren't lost geographically.

They're lost existentially.

They're searching for meaning,
identity, and purpose while

building careers that, from the
outside, look incredibly successful.

But here's what I've learned.

Feeling lost doesn't mean
you've lost your value.

A while back, my wife
lost her wedding ring.

We searched everywhere: the
house, the car, our bags.

Then we had the unpleasant realization
that our dog, Nala, may have swallowed

it, which led to one of the least
glamorous moments of my life, searching

through dog poop for a wedding ring.

Why would anyone do that?

Because valuable things
are worth searching for.

Jesus tells two stories in Luke chapter
fifteen that make this exact point.

One about a shepherd who leaves
ninety-nine sheep to search

for one that's wandered away.

Another one about a woman who tears apart
her house looking for one lost coin.

What's fascinating is that the stories
aren't really about the sheep or the coin.

They're about the one doing the searching.

See, Jesus is revealing the heart of God,
a God who doesn't stop pursuing people.

Here's the point I don't want you to miss.

The lost coin never became less
valuable because it was lost.

Its location changed,
but its worth didn't.

I think that's something our generation
desperately, desperately needs to hear.

We often assume that if we feel
lost, uncertain, or behind,

then somehow we're worth less.

So we try to prove ourselves
through promotions, salaries,

relationships, influence, recognition.

But achievement can tell you
what you've accomplished.

It can never tell you what you're worth.

That's why success alone
often feels so empty.

Not because success is bad, but
because it was never designed to answer

the deepest questions of your soul.

Only Jesus can do that.

So if you've been feeling restless
maybe, maybe lately, maybe it

isn't because you're failing.

Maybe your soul is reminding you
what it was actually created for.

You weren't made to build a
career and hope it could carry

the weight of your identity.

You were made to know Jesus,
to walk with Him, to receive an

identity you don't have to earn.

So here's the challenge this week:
Stop asking your career to answer

questions only Jesus can answer,
because lost things don't lose their

value, and the Good Shepherd has never
stopped s-- stopped searching for you.

Thanks for tuning in to this
week's episode of the Next

Gen Kingdom Leaders podcast.

If you liked what you heard, please
rate, review, and share this episode.

It'll help us reach
and impact more people.

If you want more information about
who we are, you can visit our

website nextgenkingdomleaders.com

or our substack Next Gen Kingdom
Leaders for more weekly content.

We'll be back next week
with another episode.

We hope you have a great week