never alone

[Betty]

by Selwyn Hughes

Lonely - But Not Alone

"' you will be scattered, each to his own home.
You will leave me
all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father
is with me."
(v.32)

-- For reading & meditation: For reading
and meditation - John 16:19-33

We spend one last day looking at the issue of
loneliness. Our
meditations on this subject have made one thing
clear Ð it is in the
periods of loneliness that we most abandon
ourselves to God and learn
how to depend upon Him utterly and completely.
The more I read the
biographies of those who have achieved great
things for God, the more
I realise that their deep knowledge of Him came,
in part, out of
moments of profound loneliness. It was in such
moments that "the God
of remarkable surprises" revealed Himself and
gave them an
understanding of His grace and power such as they
could never
otherwise have known. Is it not true that God's
glory bursts through
most powerfully when the sky is at its darkest?
Does not His strength
uphold us most when we are feeling weak and
inadequate? And does not
His love penetrate most deeply when we feel
unloved or isolated from
others? When we are prepared to die to our own
interests and are
willing to follow our Lord fearlessly along the
path which He sees is
best for us, we experience, not just temporal,
but eternal rewards.
The seed that falls into the ground and dies is
the one that yields a
rich and bountiful harvest. Many of us fail to be
fruitful in our
Christian life and experience because we are
afraid or unwilling to
face the issues which demand a whole-hearted
commitment to the will
of God. We save ourselves - and then what? We
finish up by not liking
the self we have saved. Make no mistake about it
- God's way is best,
even though a thousand hardships beset the path.

PRAYER:
O God my Father, give me the courage of Jesus
who, despite His
loneliness and isolation, went on to achieve Your
perfect will.
Quicken within me today the sense that when I am
walking with You I
may feel lonely, but I am never alone. Amen.

[Betty]

Title: Never Alone

Author: Woodrow Kroll
Ruth 1:3, 5
Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died;
and she was left, and her two sons.

Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died;
so the woman survived her two sons
and her husband.
Never Alone
A man took his elderly mother out to the cemetery
to decorate graves for Memorial Day. After
placing a bouquet of flowers on her husband's
grave, she wandered among the other gravestones
marking the resting places of other family
members who had gone to be with the Lord. Finally
she stopped, looked her son in the eye and with a
wistful smile asked, "What have I done to deserve
all this overtime?"
Perhaps Naomi felt the same way. She had left
Israel with a husband and two sons; now only she
was left—alone, and yet not alone. God had
brought into her life two compassionate
daughters-in-law, one of whom would follow her
all the way back to Israel. Even though Naomi
intensely felt the loss of her loved ones, God
had not deserted her. He provided, even in a
foreign land, those who would love and care for a
forlorn widow.
God never really leaves us alone. When He removes
those whom we expect to love and support us, He
always provides another way for this need to be
met. While you may experience the pain of
separation, you never need to feel totally
abandoned. Sometimes God grants you an
unmistakable sense of His company. Other times He
uses people around you to be the instruments of
His love and comfort. In either case, His
compassion never fails and His presence never
falters.
Perhaps you have lost the one dearest to you.
Maybe you have moved far away from family and
friends. Let God fill your life with His presence
in whatever way He chooses, and rejoice that He
never forgets nor forsakes. Be assured that even
though there may be an empty place in your home,
there can be a fullness in your heart.
You may feel lonely, but you need never feel
alone.
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