You Are Not Alone
“Your God, the Lord himself, will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 GNT
“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;
Psalm 37:23-24 NIV
though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”
Have you ever felt alone? Like no one understands what you’re going through and no one cares? I think we’ve all had those moments. Life gets hard and we cry for help. But we don’t know if anyone is listening . . .
As Christians, we say we believe that God hears us, but sometimes we don’t really embrace what this means for our everyday lives. We send prayers up, but we don’t know if He will answer us. Maybe we don’t really even know how to listen. We feel that God is far away. He’s “up there” and we’re “down here” and we don’t know how to bridge the gap. So we keep God at a distance. We try to face our problems and deal with our fears all on our own, but we just can’t. We give in to feelings of isolation and loneliness, and it makes us feel like giving up.
If this describes you, then you’re not the only one. I have been there many times. And I have discovered that this is exactly where the enemy wants us to be. As long as we are consumed with our own struggles and worries, we are not focused on God, and we start to believe Satan’s lies: God doesn’t care about you. He doesn’t want you to be happy. Your prayers don’t make a difference. You will always feel alone. . . Don’t fall for it! I have had to learn this lesson the hard way. When we start believing these lies, we stop reaching out for God. And then we get lost in the dark feeling lonely, anxious, and depressed.
“The battle for control of your mind is fierce, and years of worry have made you vulnerable to the enemy. Therefore, you need to be vigilant in guarding your thoughts. Do not despise this weakness in yourself since I am using it to draw you closer to Me. Your constant need for Me creates an intimacy that is well worth all the effort. You are not alone in this struggle for your mind. My Spirit living within you is ever ready to help in this striving. Ask Him to control your mind; He will bless you with Life and Peace.”
Sarah Young, Life in His Presence
“I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.
Psalm 116:1-2 NLT
Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!”
My friends, there is always Someone listening. We have a God who listens and cares. He understands what we’re going through, and He promises to be with us — always. He is not “up there” far away. He is right here with us waiting for us to take His hand. He wants us to seek Him every day and trust Him with every aspect of our lives. He will take care of us, and He will lead us out of the darkness into His light.
I have learned that if I am not at peace, then it means that I am not fully trusting Him — I’m trying to take on concerns that aren’t mine to deal with. When I turn these over to Him, I am free to focus on my job instead: trusting and obeying my loving heavenly Father. It’s amazing what a difference this makes! Instead of feeling overwhelmed and alone, I feel safe and loved. Instead of feeling anxious about the future, I feel excited about the adventure that awaits. Instead of feeling tired and weak, I feel energized and strong. Maybe you don’t think this kind of life can happen for you. But I’m here to tell you that it can. All you have to do is reach for God’s hand. He will hold you up and give you His strength. He will love you no matter what, and He will guide you into the amazing life He has in store for you. You are not alone!
“You are Mine for all time – and beyond time, into eternity. No power can deny you your inheritance in heaven. I want you to realize how utterly secure you are! Even if you falter as you journey through life, I will never let go of your hand.”
Sarah Young, Life in His Presence
“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.”
Psalm 120:1 ESV
Whenever we’re tempted to believe that God doesn’t answer our prayers, we need to remember that He speaks to us through His written Word. We should never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to reveal very personal truths to us just when we need to hear them. God speaks to each of us in a very personal way. His written Word is like a love letter written just for us. Max Lucado’s book Come Thirsty ends with a chapter titled “If God Wrote You a Letter”. Here is an excerpt:
“Dear child of mine, . . . You are worried and troubled about many things; trust me with all your heart. I know how to rescue godly people from their trials. My Spirit helps you in your distress. Let me strengthen you with my glorious power. I did not spare my Son but gave him up for you. Won’t I give you everything else? March on, dear soul, with courage! Never give up. I will help you. I will uphold you.”
Max Lucado, Come Thirsty
Once we fully embrace the love and encouragement we find in our heavenly Father, we begin to be transformed. We no longer feel alone. We begin to sense God’s presence in everything around us, and we wonder how we didn’t see it before. We feel peace and joy. It’s an amazing feeling! So what do we do now? We share this love and encouragement with others. We let God use us to reach those that still feel lost.
“When you think of your life, keep in mind that you, too, are God’s love letter. You are His example of grace and compassion and humility. You demonstrate what it means to be God’s child to those in your midst. . . . You may lead others to Christ simply by being in their presence. It’s still possible that you will be the reason someone will spend eternity in heaven. . . . If one of your dreams is to make a difference in the world, open your mind and heart to the idea that you can make a difference, not only in this world but also in the world to come. There’s nothing sweeter than sharing a love letter. Tell others what God has done for you today. You may be their light of possibility.”
Karen Moore, It’s Still Possible
“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.”
2 Corinthians 3:2 NCV
There are others out there who are still feeling lost and alone. They have given up hope. They think no one cares. We can show them that Someone does. We can encourage them to hold on. We can give them a reason to believe that they’ll be okay. We can let them know they are not alone. We can tell them, When you feel lost, you will be found . . .
By the way, my daughter and I were part of the virtual choir in this video. All we had to do was send in recordings of our parts and the Voctave folks did the rest. On their own, our individual recordings are nothing special, and they are pretty boring to watch. Mine is just me sitting there singing the alto line for the chorus part — you don’t see or hear anyone else. But when I finally got to see the completed video, I was blown away. It was so cool being part of something this amazing! I’m extremely glad that my daughter and I (and my son-in-law, our video editor!) put in the time and effort it took to do this. Being able to participate in this was a blessing. And I’m grateful that Voctave gave everyone the opportunity to be a part of their work. God does the same thing: He gives us a chance to be a part of His work. And when we offer up our small contributions, He can turn them into something amazing!
“If we offer nothing to God, he will have nothing to use.
The Chronological Life Application Bible
But he can take what little we have and turn it into something great.”
This week’s Scripture passages remind us that God is always with us. When we are lost, He seeks us out. He gives us strength and hope. And He invites us to be a part of His work by sharing His love and encouragement with others who feel alone. When we put in the time and effort it takes to do this, we will be amazed at the results. And in letting God use us to bless others, we too will be blessed!
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:10 ESV
References:
- Chronological Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2012.
- Lucado, Max. Come Thirsty: No Heart Too Dry for His Touch. W Publishing Group, 2004.
- Moore, Karen. It’s Still Possible: 100 Reminders That God Can Do All Things. Thomas Nelson, 2020.
- “You Will Be Found – Voctave ft. Virtual Choir.” YouTube, uploaded by Voctave, 16 November 2020, https://youtu.be/hwbGSpKy-Ag.
- Young, Sarah. Life in His Presence: A Jesus Calling Guided Journal. Thomas Nelson, 2020.
Images:
- Virtual Choir featured image taken from YouTube video “You Will Be Found – Voctave ft. Virtual Choir” https://youtu.be/hwbGSpKy-Ag
- Father and Child image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
- Praying Hands image by reenablack from Pixabay
- Love Letter image by Paolo Chieselli from Pixabay
- Good Shepherd image from wallbrethrenchurch.net
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!