Loneliness or Aloneness

The Bible speaks of being alone in two different ways. One denotes loneliness and the other refers to living al-one with our Father God (John 16:32). We can experience both at the same time, or one without the other.

God realized that loneliness had an adverse effect on the human soul (Genesis 2:18). He created us for companionship. Have you ever tried to scratch an itch in the middle of your back? We need each other. 

Even in a crowd of people, we can suffer loneliness, because it is a state of mind, rather than a physical issue. It is a aching void deep within our soul.

Loneliness causes us to feel isolated, dejected, abandoned, unimportant, unloved and even hopeless. We want to hide under the covers, ignore our responsibilities and vegetate.

Loneliness affects us mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. We actually believe that no one cares about what happens to us, unless we realize that God continually cares for us (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22).

Aloneness is quite different than loneliness. We all need time to be alone. This helps us to get in touch with our inner self, to ascertain our needs, to get to the root of any negative emotions and to maintain our union with Christ (Colossians 1:27, 3:3-4; Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 3:14).

In times of solitude, we recharge our psychological, physical and spiritual batteries to have the energy to continue to minister for the Lord as His Spirit directs (Ephesians 2:10).

Times of solitude refresh us and prepare us to hear from God each moment of the day (Psalm 95:7; Hebrews 3:7-8). Al-one times require quiet, private and peaceful surroundings.

We listen with our spiritual ears (Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:9). The presence of God infiltrates our spirit, soul and body. We are one with God and enjoy His companionable silence (John 10:27-28).

Once we enter God's sanctuary within our spirit, we realize the futility of our temporal existence and begin to pursue eternal endeavors instead (Psalm 73). Al-one times help us to maintain a spiritual focus throughout our life.

Prayer:

Father God, our disheartened soul takes comfort in Your continual presence within. We meditate on Your Word and follow Your precepts each step of our life. Thank You for Your blessings and abundant provision of all of our needs.

We trust that You will continue to perfect us until Christ returns (Philippians 1:6). We have abundant assurance that You will keep all of Your promises to Your Saints (Romans 4:21). Teach us that loneliness is our choice. Remind us to spend al-one times with You, and we will never experience debilitating isolation, but restful solitude instead.

Thought for the Day:

As we traverse the moments of each day and face the issues of life, we function from our spirit, rather than our soul. This enables us to continually meditate on the goodness of God and the Truth of His Word, as we follow His Spirit's direction to accomplish His will.

A Secure Life

 

Every trial in life threatens our stability. Physical illnesses, emotional trauma and mental stress take their toll. Sometimes they cause us to lose our job, home, mate, family, bank account and our security. We have nowhere to turn and we end up defenseless, scared and lonely.

Our human independence drives us to deal with life's stresses on our own. We pridefully believe that we can conquer every obstacle without anyone's help. In his day, Paul called people like this "foolish" (Galatians 3:1-3). God did not redeem us to forsake us (Isaiah 43:1). We cannot save our self for eternity and neither can we save our self on a daily basis.

There is only one stable place on this earth, and that is in the loving arms of our Heavenly Father. He sacrificed His Son in order to pay the penalty of our sins and to give us free access to His throne (John 3:16; Hebrews 4:16). He invites us to call upon Him anytime. He will answer us, give us security in our soul - our thoughts, choices and emotions - and work out our circumstances for our ultimate good (Jeremiah 33:3; Romans 2:28).

As authentic Born Again Believers our house is no longer built on the sand of Satan's lies, but on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:26; Psalm 18:2). Jesus is our chief cornerstone and He keeps us secure through all of life's stormy trials. God's Spirit within us provides us with a solid foundation (Matthew 7:24-27). As we cast our burdens on our Father God, He tenderly cares for us (Psalm 55:22; Proverbs 16:3; 1 Peter 5:7).

We cannot be good, holy or spiritual enough to deserve God's blessings; therefore, He loved us while we were still sinners (Isaiah 43:4; Romans 5:8). As we trust in Him, God manifests His glory in and through us during our entire lifetime (Titus 3:4-6; Ephesians 2:8-10). Once we enter God's rest, we no longer strive in our human carnal efforts (Deuteronomy 33:12; Hebrews 4:9-12).

Prayer:

Father God, if we consider more than this one moment of time, we will feel remorse for our past and fear for our future. As we realize that in this one moment we are blessed beyond measure, we can dwell in peace with our confidence in You. You give us peaceful dwellings, secure homes and undisturbed places of rest now and for eternity (Isaiah 32:17-20). Only in You do we have a secure life.

Thought for the Day:

Regardless of life's circumstances, nothing can separate us from the love of God. - Romans 8:31-39

The Lord Fights for Us

Serving God has its perks! When we yoke up with Him, He helps us to carry our load of burdens. His gentle love gives rest to our soul (Matthew 11:29). When we sincerely call on Him, He is near to us. He fulfills our righteous desires, because we respect Him. He hears us in our distress and saves us. He preserves everyone who will love Him and keep His commandments (Psalm 145:18-20; John 14:15). God is so good to us, that we live life with songs of praise bubbling up from our heart (Psalm 13:6).

God provides us with peaceful dwelling places, secure homes and undisturbed places of rest. Even if our physical home is destroyed, we abide in Christ, who is our Rock. If we live in Christ and He dwells in us with all of His fullness (Colossians 3:3), we are never shaken (Isaiah 32:18; Psalm 62:6). We avoid the way of the wicked, the sinner and the mocker, and we walk in God’s ways and find total rest for our soul (Psalm 1:1; Jeremiah 6:16). God listens to us, hears our concerns and defends us (Joshua 10:14).


Jesus made peace with God for us, by shedding His blood on the cross (Colossians 1:19-20). As we turn from evil and pursue good, the eyes of the Lord are on us and He pays attention to our prayers (1 Peter 2:10-12). The Lord is our Warrior and He fights for us in every battle we encounter throughout life (Exodus 15:3). He goes before us and makes the way safe for us (Deuteronomy 1:30). He works against those who wish to harm us and He fights for our safety (Joshua 23:3).


God’s fullness dwells in Jesus and He reconciled all things to Himself through Christ. Therefore, let us set aside times throughout the day where we focus totally on God. Tune out the noise of life and focus just on Him. When we do, we hear His voice and we learn of His character. We have no need to fear, because God Himself fights for us (Deuteronomy 3:22). Soon, we find our self communing with the Lord every moment of the day and enjoying His fullness in our life.


Prayer:

Father God, when we were lost in our sin and deprivation, you made us alive with you in Christ. We were dead in sin, but You forgave all of our transgressions and cancelled the debt we owed for them by nailing them to the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). This gives us a great cause to rejoice; because our salvation, even though refined by the fire of trials, is more precious to us than worldly riches, which will perish. We give You glory, honor and praise now, as well as at the revelation of King Jesus in Your perfect timing (1 Peter 1:6-7). Help us to maintain a loving, reciprocal relationship with You all day long.

Thought for the Day:

The LORD always fights for us and He stills our weary, troubled soul.  – Exodus 14:14

 

The Center of Our Focus

Read: Isaiah 32:17-20

"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you." - Psalm 9:10

A person, animal or thing that is the chief object of our attention, interest, activity and/or emotion is at the center of our focus. Every other person and interest takes a back seat. For instance, the sun is the center of our solar system. The planets revolve around the sun. Jupiter is our biggest planet; yet, it is miniscule in comparison to the sun. Anything that is the center of our focus is enormous in comparison to everything else in our life.

What is the center of your focus? Is it your family? Job? Car? Hobby? Money? Health? Beauty? Fame? You fill in this blank: The center of my focus is _____.
So many people find their life spinning out of control because their center is not secure. Fickle Fate comes along and removes the item/person from your life that you set up as the hub of your wheel. Without that hub, your life is at a standstill. You are not going anywhere.

We often allow our life to revolve around a person, animal or thing. We put all of our stock into this item/person and we bet our life on the fact that it will be with us forever. Then, something happens to remove our prized possession and we are left helpless, jaded and forlorn. Jesus Christ is the only entity in life that is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Everything else is destructible, fallible and temporary.
 
Jesus is our only friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), who will never let us down (Hebrews 13:5) and who will never die and leave us alone (1 Timothy 6:16). Our personal, intimate relationship with the Lord of lords and King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15) is the only permanent entity we have in this life. Nothing else will last through eternity. This relationship is vital for the stability of our life. Without Jesus as our center, we are like a boat without a rudder, a bird without two wings, a flag without a pole and a dog without a tail to wag.

Do you have this intimate relationship with the living Lord? He has perfect plans for your life. He wants to prosper you and to give you a future full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11). He is just waiting to give us a quiet and confident heart, a peaceful and secure home and undisturbed places of rest. Regardless of devastating natural disaster, accidents and emotional tragedies, He will give us blessings (Isaiah 32:17-20). Once we completely surrender our life to Him, He takes our heavy burdens and gives us His rest forever (Matthew 11:28).

Surrender is one of the hardest endeavors for a human being. Yielding to God takes no effort, no amount of control, no creativity and no stress. We merely let go and let God take over. We simply allow God to be God in our life. The reason this is so difficult is because, in order to surrender, we must first be willing to rest, to cease from our efforts, to sit down and to take a deep breathe and relax.

It takes a great deal of effort and struggle for a human being to let go. Once we are there, however, we can actually stop striving and enter God’s rest. God gives us His unconditional love freely as a gift (John 3: 16-18). We only have to open our hearts wide and receive His gift of love. When you realize the truth of this concept, you will sit in your quiet place and feel His love cascading over you like a waterfall. His peace will seep deeply into your soul, and you will never want to strive again.

Prayer:

Lord God, it is no small task for a human being to give up. We are not programmed to surrender, but to fight. You created adrenalin for this very reason. It is only when we realize that You will never leave us or let us down, that you protect and provide for us, and that you have our best interest at heart that we can even remotely consider letting go. Forgive me for placing other people and things at the heart of my life. I want You as my center.

Thought for the Day:

It is only by making Jesus the center of our focus that we can enter into His eternal rest.