I’M NOT ALONE

As I sat down in the waiting room an older gentleman was sitting across from me.  You could tell he was the patient. He wore the well-known patient armband around his wrist, and he had his bag of belongings in the seat beside him. It was noticeable he didn’t feel well, he had little expression and was very thin.

As I sat there a few minutes we made eye contact, and I said, “Are you alone?”  He said while pointing his finger up to the sky, “Oh no mam, I’m not alone He is always with me!”

So true.  We are never alone.

Just think if everyone who was lonely realized they were not alone?

As I began researching loneliness, I found that feeling alone is a lot like having no food. Humans have a basic drive for feeling a part of something.  I know when I taught school the students who didn’t belong to anything usually had some needs not being met.  Research has shown that when the requirement for social relationships isn’t met, humans will fall apart mentally and even physically.

Feeling alone effects, the mind and the body.  It can compromise health in ways such as:

•    Addiction issues

•    Suicide

•    Relationship issues

•    Rise in levels of stress hormones and also increase of blood pressure

•    Destroys the quality and efficiency of sleep

The bottom line is people have a fundamental need for inclusion.

So how can we explain to those who feel lonely that they are not alone?

John 14:15-21 New International Version (NIV)

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

ADVOCATE:one who supports or defends someone or something, combines the ideas of comfort and counsel.

ORPHAN:one deprived of some protection

When you accept Christ as your savior, you will never be left as an orphan.  You will always have an advocate walking life with you.  Can you see this advocate? No, but He is there.

When Jesus said in verse 18 that He wouldn’t leave you as an orphan I will come to you, He was saying that even though He ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit was coming to us.

 The Spirit was poured out on all believers at Pentecost (Acts 2). The Holy Spirit is present among us. It is by faith that we can feel not alone because of the Spirits power every day.

HOLY SPIRIT:a powerful person on our side, working for and with us (part of the 3 in one, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit)

Verse 21:whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.

Just think if we as Christian indeed did our job for Jesus?  If we led others to Christ many of these lonely people would realize that they are never alone.  God is always with them.

God is omnipotence (all powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (all present). Christ is the all in all.  We shouldn’t ever forget it.

Tony Evans, whom I love, wrote an article entitled YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  He started with the LONE RANGER.  He stated that when we think about it, the Long Ranger was never alone. He had Tonto.  Then He went through the Bible, Moses relied on Aaron, David had Jonathan, Ruth had Naomi.

We don’t have to be the Lone Ranger because we always have a Tonto in Holy Spirit.

CHALLENGENCES OF THE WEEK:

• Keep your daily appointment

• Dive into the word, the word reminds us we aren’t alone

• Do your job- bring others to Christ

• Fill your cup with Christ so that you can fill other cups!

EXTRA READING:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200307/the-dangers-loneliness THE DANGERS OF LONELINESS Hara Estroff Marano July 1, 2003

https://tonyevans.org/you-are-not-alone/ Tony Evans, YOU ARE NOT ALONE