We Are Never Alone

There is no worse feeling than being alone. Many years ago as an Army National Guardsman I participated in some training that involved an escape and evade exercise in which I ended up lost and alone in a very dark rural setting. For hours I wandered around with no direction, unsure of where I was or where I was going. It was one of those nights when you cannot even see your hand in front of you. But suddenly out of the dark night as I walked aimlessly I began to see a shadow of something ahead of me. Unsure of what I was walking toward, out of desperation I kept moving towards the shadow. It was only when I got within inches of this moving figure did I discover it was two lost soldiers wandering the night just as I was. Though we were just as lost and confused as before, the mere comfort of two other people changed everything. Together that night the three of us found our way back to base camp and successfully completed the mission.

Solomon wrote this great pearl of wisdom in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

This is wise counsel. Each of us needs to develop relationships with others that give us someone to help pick us up when we fall. But the truth is that there are going to be times in our lives when we will feel alone. People are human and even solid Christian friends will at times fail us. And to be honest there will be times that we will fail them as well.

What happens in those times when we find ourselves alone? What happens when the storms in life hit when no one is around? It is possible to be alone in a crowd of people. There will be seasons of our lives in which we will be wandering in the dark alone.

This sounds like dreary news. But the truth for the Christian is that we are never alone. Take some time to study the life of David in the Old Testament. David went through many things in his life. He rose from being a mere shepherd boy to his nation’s hero by killing the giant. Later He would find himself hunted down by King Saul who turned from one who loved and admired him to the one who wanted him dead. At times he was a great man of God but then later he would fall deeply into sin. David’s life is an amazing story of ups and downs, not so unlike the lives we live as Christians. Yet one thing remained constant in David’s life whether in the good times or the bad times; God was always with him.

When we made Jesus our Lord and Savior we became one of His disciples. The promises of Jesus are ours to have. In Matthew 8:20 Jesus tells us this, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." In Hebrews 13:5 Jesus says this, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." In Luke chapter 15 Jesus tells three parables; The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, and The Parable of the Prodigal Son. You see Jesus is with us even when we are trying to run from Him and even when we are dwelling in sinful places. He is there waiting for us. The only thing that can keep us from Him is our sin but all we have to do to restore that relationship is to repent. In all three of those parables Jesus tells us to repent and come back to Him. His arms are open wide. The problem isn’t that He isn’t there; the problem is that we turn away from Him. We have an enemy named Satan who will tell you that what you have done is too much and he will tell you there is no use. The problem here is simple; that is a lie. Our relationship with God is not based on our performance but on the work of Christ on the cross. Jesus is there.

But maybe for you it isn’t really like that right now. Maybe it is in an illness like cancer or in a failed marriage that you don’t see Jesus. Maybe loss of a job or the death of a loved one has you in a pit of despair.

In the past few weeks I have been stricken twice by some crazy stomach virus. I spent hours sick in the bathroom unable to sleep and unable to eat. I prayed and I prayed that Jesus would heal me and that Jesus would take away that horrible feeling of nausea and the piercing headache that came along with it. For days I asked Him to stop the suffering. But both times Jesus allowed me to be sick for about 5 days.

If you know me well then you know that I believe in prayer. I believe in the healing power of Jesus. I take the Bible literally and when I read that Jesus healed people simply by speaking the Word of healing, I believe that he still can and still will do that. I have seen answered prayer. But the simple truth is that sometimes we need trials in our lives. They are the way God grows us. Sometimes they are even the way God disciplines us. Scripture teaches this. It is not for me to try and judge why you face the things you face today. I don’t know why some people have cancer. I don’t know why some people lose their jobs. I don’t know why sometimes God takes little babies and children from the hands of their parents. But I know this; God is good. There is a reason for the trials you face today.

For me the past couple of weeks when I was so sick gave me a great opportunity to be with Jesus in a time when I needed Him most. My trials are mine and yours are yours. God has spoken to me clearly in my trials. It is not the first time He has done so. But the truth is this; Jesus was with me every minute of my sickness. As a matter of fact I probably spent more time talking to Him during those minutes of illness than I had done in months. I needed that. It has rekindled my love for Him.

While I was ill I began to imagine the difficulty many of you are facing this very day. Suffering is real and it is hard. My prayer life has grown as God showed me a small glimpse of what suffering is like and though I cannot know the depths of your personal pain, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual, I pray for those who suffer.

Someday the suffering will end for those who are Christ’s. But for those who are suffering today my hope is that you will turn to Jesus. Pray He brings your suffering to an end now but trust in Him that if He doesn’t do that right away that He is right there with you. Jesus loves you. He has not left you nor forsaken you even in your pain. Don’t buy the lies of the enemy; turn to Jesus in prayer. Open His Word and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the soothing comfort of it to allow you to experience His peace and His rest. Praise Him in the good and in the bad. Pray without ceasing.