03/03/2019
Do you feel hopelessly alone today? Are you feeling lost, abandoned, sick and without hope, dying and laying alone waiting for that final moment, or suffering without the care of a loved one? No matter how far we feel that we are from another soul, or devoid of love, we are never alone... no matter how lost, how abandoned, how hopeless, how near death, or intense our suffering... we are in the continuous presence , and hands of God. Take heart for He loves you now.
“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”
Isaiah 49:16 ESV
When I was young I had a girlfriend that I was in love with who suddenly ended our relationship. I was destroyed, and felt like my world had come crashing in on me. Even though I was surrounded by people I felt alone. There is no sense of loneliness like the loss, or absence of love. We used to sit together side by side, and she would have my name written on her hand in ink as if to tell the world that she loved me... but eventually she scrubbed it off and she was gone. I felt alone. There will be many times in our lives when Satan will attempt to convince us that we are alone and without God’s hope, but this is a lie. God has written more than just our names on His hands, He has engraved our entire lives, and we are with Him always. Even when we are heartbroken or facing one of life’s other lonelinesses, He is right there with us, reading our life within His hands, and understanding our circumstances; telling us that He is forever with us... If you will only listen, you can you hear Him singing.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.”
Zephaniah 3:17-18 ESV
Satan would have us think that we live alone in a silent world because he realizes our desperate need for companionship and love.
“Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."”
Genesis 2:18 ESV
This need has been well known in heaven from the very beginning of creation, and he finds this chink in our armor as he leans on it with his spear of loneliness, trying with all his might to separate us from God, and to make us feel lost. But this is only fantasy, and it’s sole power over us is in our perception... in how much he can lead us to believe his lie.
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
1 Peter 5:8-10 ESV
So when we are approached with the lie of loneliness, we must only look to God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, for our companionship, strength, and hope. Whatever our circumstances might be, they haven’t gone unnoticed by God... He simply looks down at his hands and there you are. The question becomes this... are you looking back?
“The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”
Psalms 9:9-10 ESV
So turn away from the lie of loneliness... We are never far from another because God is with us always, we are never without love because God is Love, we are never truly lost because the Holy Spirit leads us, we are never abandoned because our Father forever awaits us, our circumstances are never hopeless because even those things lost to us on earth are reclaimed in heaven, we are not alone in death because Jesus waits to resurrect our life, and no matter our suffering God is with us, and will dry every tear. This is the truth, and this is our promise... you are not alone... even in eternity.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for understanding my need for love and companionship, and I thank you for providing these by giving me all those who surround me, and by your own eternal love and presence in my life. Help me Father to see the lie in those moments when I feel tempted... alone and abandoned. Let me hear your Son Jesus as He wrestles with Satan’s lie by confronting His own loneliness on the Cross. I hear Him as He calls out to you from Psalm 22 saying "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"” It is at this moment when He faces loneliness that I come to know Him in a way I could never have understood Him otherwise, and the realization of the hope in you that remains for me during my own times of distress. Strengthen me Father each time I suffer as if alone. Give me hope in these times of perceived loss, and false abandonment. Let me see you with me, and feel the love for me exuding from the palms of your hands. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my ever present God of eternal love and hope. Praised be your name always, and in you I place all glory forevermore. Your mercy and grace lifts the shroud of loneliness from me, and clothes me in your joy. Hallowed be your name.
Rich Forbes