BELIEVING IS SEEING

 John 20:29

Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

               In the 1994 movie, The Santa Clause, Scott Calvin finds himself transported to the North Pole as the new Santa Claus. Scot’s natural skepticism will not allow him to believe what he is seeing. He expresses his disbelief to Judy, an elf. “I see all this, but I don’t believe it.” Her response is, “Seeing isn’t believing. Believing is seeing.” She could have taken that line right out of the pages of the Bible.

                In our world today, the balance of opinion is on the side of seeing is believing. We want solid, scientific evidence before we will trust something as true. Our latest battle with COVID-19 is a prime example of this. On all sides of the debate, people have demanded proof before they would believe. Few people were willing to trust what they were being told at face value.

                Thomas would have been very comfortable in our skeptical world. He was not present the first time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection. When the other disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus, he refused to believe them. He demanded tangible proof. A week later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, except this time Thomas was present. Jesus offered to Thomas the tangible proof that he demanded. Thomas was overwhelmed and responded in unqualified worship of Jesus. Then Jesus made a remarkable statement. Blessed are those who do not get to see yet believe. To put it another way, believing is seeing.

                Throughout the Gospel of John, the word believe takes center stage. When I was a boy growing up in church, I was a part of a group called Christian Service Brigade. It was like a Christian Boy Scouts. A big part of the program was getting us into the Bible. One of the assignments that we were given was to read through the Gospel of John and underline every time the word believe is used. It became clear very quickly that believing is the central focus of the Gospel. At the end of John’s Gospel, he summarizes what he wrote with these words; Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

                In a very real way, when it comes to faith in Jesus Christ, believing is seeing. When we believe what the Bible teaches us about Jesus our eyes are opened. We begin to see things from a different perspective. We begin to see things we have never seen before. A whole new world opens up to us. For the first time we are able to see beyond the tangible, the obvious, to the amazing and eternal. God goes from being a myth to a reality. The fog of human existence is replaced with a new clarity. Believing becomes seeing.

                When Peter wrote his first letter to the believers, he stressed that believing supersedes seeing. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9) Peter could have been writing those words to us. In fact, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he was. We have not had the privilege of seeing Jesus in the ways that Peter and Thomas did, yet through faith we can see Jesus and put our trust in Him. Believing is seeing.

                This is at the very heart of what it means to be a Christian. The book of Hebrews distills this truth in one verse. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

                In The Santa Claus, over time the reality that Scot Calvin had become the new Santa began to become real to him. The Bible tells us that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we become new creations. Our old life is replaced by a new life in Christ. As our belief in this promise grows stronger, the reality of this spiritual transformation becomes more and more real to us. We begin to see the evidence that God is real and that He is changing our lives. Believing becomes seeing.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

 

   

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE

 1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

                 Suanne and I have been reading a series of books called the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. The main characters of the saga are a family, consisting of a grandfather, a mother, and three children. The three children are heirs to the throne of a lost kingdom. Where we are in the story, the family has settled in the mother’s home town and are trying to establish a normal life. The children have been enrolled in the local school. But as is often the case, because they are outsiders, the children are facing some significant challenges from their classmates. Every day, as the mother drops the children off for school she says, “Remember who you are.”

                Those words are appropriate for all of us who are followers of Jesus. Each day, as we head off into our part of the world, we need to remind ourselves who we are. It is so easy for us to forget. We begin to see our identity as wrapped up in what we do for work, or what we accomplish, or what difference we make in the world. We allow our identity to be shaped by the society around us. Subtly we begin to conform to the current trends. Our goal becomes to fit in, to not stand out, to not draw undue attention to ourselves. Yet at the same time, we want to be noticed and admired by those around us. We can easily become human chameleons, changing who we are to fit the situation.

                We need to constantly be reminded that we are new creations in Christ. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! We no longer belong to the world in the same way as we did before we came to faith in Christ. Our identity is not found in the world around us, but in our relationship with Christ. We have been transformed.

                One of the things that causes us to conform to the world around us is our need to be accepted. We want to be liked. We want to be appreciated. We want to be loved. So we adjust our lives to fit other people’s expectations of us. What if we didn’t have to do that? What if we could know, without a doubt that we are loved and accepted no matter what those around us think? How would that change the way we live?

                Just as the mother in the Wingfeather Saga tells her children to remember who they are, we too need to remember who we are. We are children of the KING. We are heirs of eternity. And we are loved beyond all measure. Take a moment to reflect upon the truth that you are a child of God.

1 John 3:1

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

        The world defines a person’s identity through the things they own and the things they accomplish. Those are all temporary things that regularly change and in time will all pass away. The quest for identity becomes an illusive goal. But the believer’s identity is secure. It is not subject to the changing nature of our world. It is wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. In him we are children of the King of Kings. Nothing that happens to us in this world can change that. So, as you make your way through your day, remember who you are. It will make all the difference in the world.

Ephesians 5:1-2

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

 

 

LIFE LESSONS FROM PLAYING ARMY

 James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

                When I was growing up, it was common for little boys to play army. I was no exception. Sometimes I would play army with my brothers or boys in the neighborhood. Most of the time I played army with my toy soldiers. At that point in my life, it was a game. I would set up my soldiers as opposing armies and then do battle. When I was done, I would collect up all of my soldiers and put them away for another day.

                When I entered college, I was enrolled in Army ROTC. In one way you could say that I was playing army at a new level. On one occasion we are taken out for a weekend of military training. We wore real uniforms and carried real rifles, albeit with blank ammunition. On our first night, we were ordered to go out on night patrol. It was reported that “the enemy” was nearby, and it was our job to locate them. I was given the responsibility of being the point man for the column. As we progressed along the prescribed route, I realized that we were moving into an area that was perfect for an ambush. I went to the officer in charge and told him what I had observed. I suggested that we leave the gully and go up on the ridge to proceed, which is what we did. By doing so, we were able to flank our enemy and win the exercise.

                My army experience ended with two years of ROTC, but several of my classmates continued on to basic training and eventually military service. The point of basic training is to turn young men into soldiers. This includes physical fitness, learning particular skills, and above all, learning to obey orders. In a way, basic training is the next level of playing army.

                The real test for a soldier is when he or she is actually deployed into combat. It is at that point that all of the playing army becomes very real. If the soldier has learned the lessons well, they will succeed. If they have not, they will fail.

                The experience of “playing army” is much like the pathway to spiritual maturity. When a person first places their faith in Christ, there is an initial period of joy, relief, and excitement. The Christian life seems easy and even fun. The person gains a new perspective that helps them to see life in new ways. The spiritual successes are many and the failures are few. Unfortunately, there is a misconception that this is the way it will always be. It is like a child saying, “When I grow up, I will be able to do whatever I want to and no one will tell me what to do.” We all know that that is not true.

                Just as the realities of growing up bring new challenges, so does our spiritual journey. The initial stage of spiritual infancy doesn’t last. God soon moves the new believer into spiritual basic training. He allows them to begin to face new challenges which test their faith and their resolve. Over time these challenges get progressively more difficult. There are fewer outright victories and more obvious failures. But with each failure, God corrects and instructs the person so that they will understand what to do the next time they face that challenge.

                As the person’s spiritual muscles develop, God begins to give them more important assignments. The risk level goes up, but so does the reward. There comes a point when a person stops playing at being a Christian and really becomes one. It is not that their original faith was false, it was just immature. In order to attain a mature faith, a person must face the real challenges and tests of life and learn to follow God’s lead. The best, most well-trained soldiers know that in the heat of battle they must obey orders. There is no time to question or discuss. They must trust those in authority in the moment. The same is true in our Christian life. As we grow in our faith, we often struggle with God’s commands. Some of them don’t make sense to us. We want to question and discuss. But there comes a time when God deploys us into battle. At that point we have to trust God. We have to learn to obey no matter what. For it is in obedience that we find victory.

                We are all at some level of “playing army” on their journey of faith. None of use has come to the end of our training. But we can trust God that wherever we are in our training, He will be there to guide us. His goal is that we would become fully mature followers of His. Real maturity doesn’t mean that life will always be smooth sailing. With maturity comes responsibility, challenge, and reward. In the military, green troops are given the easy, safe assignments. It is the elite troops that are given the truly significant ones. On this spiritual journey, immature believers are given the easy, safe assignments. It is those who have been trained who are entrusted with the hardest assignments.

                In life, we have a significant choice to make. We can be content to spiritually “play army” or we can embrace the challenges of becoming real soldiers for the cause of Christ.

Hebrews 12:7-11

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 

A PARABLE OF TWO OUTCOMES

                 Two new pickup trucks rolled off the line and were shipped to awaiting dealers. They gleamed with all of the shine of a new vehicle as they sat on the showroom floor. Then one day each of the trucks was purchased by an excited buyer.

                Each man examined the shining truck on the showroom floor. Each was impressed by the features it had to offer. Each made the decision to purchase, and signed their name on the dotted line. Each drove their new truck home with an overwhelming sense of joy and satisfaction.

                Over the first few months, each man took intentional care of their shiny new truck. They were careful about placing things in its bed. They watched out for potholes in the road. They parked in places where they felt they were safe from dents and scratches. But as the months began to turn into years, things gradually changed.

                One of the men continued to conscientiously care for his truck. He had the undercarriage rust coated. He had a bed liner installed to protect the truck’s bed. He washed his truck once a week. He kept the interior clean. He changed the oil regularly. He rotated the tires on a regular basis. He had the engine tuned up periodically. If he noticed a dent or a scratch on the truck, he dealt with is right away.

                The other man began to take his truck for granted. He turned down the offer of rust coating as an extra expense. After he had gotten a couple of dents in the truck bed, he didn’t think about it anymore. After all, that’s to be expected when you use a pickup truck. He had the oil changed only occasionally. He rarely washed it. He allowed old coffee cups, paper napkins, and miscellaneous stuff to accumulate in the interior. He wasn’t careful when getting in and out of the truck, so soon there were a few tears in the seats and scuffs on the doors and dashboard. Because he rarely washed his truck, he did not notice the dents and scratches that began to appear. Soon there were small patches of rust forming on the body of the truck. He didn’t pay attention to the tires unless he got a flat. He never had the engine tuned up.

                Many years later people marveled at the first man’s pickup. It was in great shape and had actually increased in value. Almost every week, someone asked the owner if he wanted to sell his “vintage” pickup. The owner would just smile and answer, “not today.” The other man’s pickup sat in a junk yard, piled on top of three other vehicles. The tires had been stripped off and rust had eaten away the body. Whatever was still useful from the engine had long ago been salvaged.

                The Bible tells us that we are like these two pickup trucks. Each choice we make in life, each action we take, is moving us in one of two directions. We are either becoming more and more like what God created us to be or we are becoming less and less like it.

                God created us in His image; to live in relationship with Him. We each begin our life on this earth with that as the end goal. As we grow and mature, we set the course of our life by the decisions that we make. We can decide to ignore God’s design and live however we please. In the end that path leads to the spiritual junk yard. Or we can choose to follow God’s design for our lives. We can intentionally do the things that make us more Christlike. The Bible says that the outcome of that choice is eternal life.  

                Every choice we make is leading us in one of these two directions. Where do you want to be when your life’s journey comes to and end?

Galatians 6:7-8

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

UNPRECEDENTED FORGIVENESS

     I was asked by our pastor to share some thoughts about one of Jesus last words on the cross, as a part of our communion service this Sunday. I thought I would share them with all of you. 

*******************

Luke 23:32-34

    Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

                One of the hardest things for us to do in life is to forgive someone who has wronged us. Our sense of justice causes us to want them to be sorry and, in some way, to pay for the ways that they have hurt us. Forgiving another person seems like we are letting them off the hook. If the offence is relatively minor, we may find it easier to forgive. But if the offence is particularly egregious, forgiveness seems impossible.

                One of the startling things that Jesus taught his disciples was that they had to learn to forgive others. Not just those who were easy to forgive, but those who were hard to forgive as well. In fact, Jesus said that our willingness to forgive others is the key to our receiving forgiveness from God. In the parable of the unforgiving servant, Jesus made the point that because God forgives us, we are obligated to forgive others. Paul picked up on this idea in his letter to the Colossians. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Col. 3:13) Jesus not only taught his disciples to forgive, he demonstrated it in a most profound and overwhelming way.

                Jesus was condemned unjustly. He hung on the cross because of the jealousy and bitterness of others. In addition to the multiple wrongs committed against him, he took upon himself the sin of the entire world. As it says in 2 Cor. 5:21, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. If anyone had the right to be angry and demand justice, it was Jesus. But that is not how Jesus responded.

                As Jesus hung on that cross, he asked the Father to forgive those who had put him there. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

                Instead of cursing his enemies, Jesus turned to the Father. Ultimately all of the wrongs of the world were and are committed against God’s holiness. The one who holds forgiveness in his hands in God the Father. Jesus turned to him at this critical time.

                Jesus could have asked the Father to curse His enemies, or punish them, or destroy them. In light of all of the injustice done to Jesus, any of these would have been justified. Instead, Jesus asked for the Father to forgive; to show the extreme expression of his mercy and his grace. Imagine the emotional pain and struggle that Jesus was going through. Imagine what you would feel like given the circumstances. Jesus chose to release his burden by asking for the Father to forgive.

                Forgiveness is God’s antidote for bitterness and resentment. Someone has said, refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Unforgiveness eats away at our soul, like a spiritual cancer. Forgiveness is the way God designed to lift the burden of bitterness and resentment off of our shoulders and place it in his hands.

                Jesus also stated that they did not know what they were doing. That is hard for us to understand. It seems like the religious leaders knew exactly what they were doing. But if we take a closer look, we can see that no one but Jesus understood what was really happening.

                The religious leaders thought they were protecting the honor of God. They saw Jesus as a threat to the established forms of worship and religious life. They were protecting the established traditions of their faith. They felt justified in bringing this disruptive person to justice.

                The crowds were clueless about what was really going on. They were carried along by the energy of the religious leaders. Just as crowds can turn into mobs today, so it was back then. Many of the people who had cried Hosanna when Jesus entered Jerusalem now cried crucify him. They did not fully understand why things had changed. They were swept along by mob mentality.

                The Roman soldiers who carried out the crucifixion were even more clueless. They did not understand why the religious leaders were so upset with Jesus. They were just following orders. It was a dirty job that few men relished doing. They were not there to pass judgement on the condemned, but to carry out the orders of those in power.

                In a much broader sense, the entire world, then and now, was clueless to the implications of their actions. Few if any understood that Jesus went to the cross in their place. Few if any saw any connection between their sinfulness and Jesus’ death. Few if any could fathom the outcome of Jesus dying on that cross. Millions of people today still cannot see the connection. Millions of people today are still clueless about what Jesus endured for them.

                On the cross, Jesus chose the ultimate act of love and compassion. He did the hardest thing. It wasn’t dying, or even suffering. It was letting go of his right to justice and forgiving those who placed him there. He is still offering that same forgiveness to each of us. It was our sin that placed Jesus on the cross. It is his forgiveness that can set us free from condemnation. It is his forgiveness that opens the door for us to enter into new life.

Isaiah 53:4-6

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 

THE RACE IS NOT OVER UNTIL YOU CROSS THE FINISH LINE

 1 Corinthians 9:24

    Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

                Now that the weather has gotten hotter, I have been doing my daily running in the morning. One of the advantages of running in the morning, other than it being cooler, is that I have the trail pretty much to myself. There is nothing to distract me, so I have the time to think while I run. There comes a time in every run where I just want to stop and walk the rest of the way. This usually happens when I have about a ¼ mile left to go. The other day, as I hit that point, the thought came into my mind that the race is not over until you cross the finish line.

                No one would applaud a marathon runner who runs 25 miles and then stops one mile short of the goal. Yet many people do something similar to that. They live an active life for 40, 50, 60 years, then for some reason they leave the race. They decide to check out early and just walk the rest of the way.

                Ever since I retired from active ministry and we moved to Michigan I have been struggling with what retirement should look like. God allowed me to have 38 years of active fruitful ministry. I have had the privilege to serve in three churches in three different roles. I was an associate pastor for 5 years, a senior pastor for 31 years, and an interim pastor for 2 years. The big question for me is what is next? How do I keep running the race until I cross the finish line? I am not there yet, so what does God want me to do now?

                One of the key themes in the New Testament is perseverance. The Apostle Paul stressed how important it is to not stop short of the finish line.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

                 If Paul was concerned about not stopping short of the goal, maybe we should be as well. If anyone had the right to take it easy and coast, it was Paul. Just listen to all that he had to endure along the way.

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? (2 Corinthians 11:24-29)

                In the face of all of this you would think that Paul deserved to find a condo by the sea and live out the rest of his life in peace. But that was not Paul’s thinking. Instead, Paul kept his eyes on the finish line at all times. Earlier in his letter the to Corinthians he wrote this.

    Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

                Most people today will live between 20 to 30 years after they “retire”. Some have called this period in our lives our second adulthood. It will be a time with more freedom and the opportunity to do things that we could not earlier in life. It is not a time to coast. It is a time to invest in eternity. The accumulated years of experience, and hopefully wisdom, are now an awesome resource. God wants to use us, just as He used Paul, right up to our finish line.

                Wherever you are in this race of life, you have not yet crossed the finish line. I know the temptation to coast is strong. Our world constantly bombards us with the message that it is our right to spend our time in leisure. But God has another plan for you and for me. He wants to use us for His glory right up to our last breath. The race is not over until we cross the finish line.

Hebrews 12:1-3

    Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

   

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

 Psalm 139:8-10

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

                Over this past year, many people have felt the sting of loneliness. Isolated by the pandemic and cut off from their normal social encounters, many people have felt isolated and alone. I can identify with these feelings. I was recently reminded that due to our move to Michigan, coupled with the isolation of the pandemic, we have lost our network of friends and ministry partners.

                There have been several times in my life when I have keenly felt the sting of loneliness. One of those times was when I went on a three-week ministry experience to the Philippines. There were several pastors who signed up for this experience. We were each assigned a different place in which to connect with a Filipino pastor and assist him in his ministry. Once I arrived in the Philippines, I discovered that my assignment had been changed at the last minute. Due to this change, I was delayed in leaving Manilla by one day. At 10:00 PM in the evening I was escorted to the airport by some of our missionaries and put on a plane. I arrived at my destination at 11:00 PM expecting to be met by the pastor. There was no one there to meet me. Soon the airport began to shut down for the night. Before I left Manilla, the missionaries had given me the phone number of the missionary guest house in Cebu, just incase something went wrong. With no other option in sight, I hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to the nearest hotel with a phone.

                As I got into the back seat of the taxi, two men also got in with me, one on either side of me. Two other men joined the driver in the front seat. We took off into the dark night with me sandwiched between two strangers, clutching my bag on my lap. We pulled down several back streets, occasionally stopping to let one of the men off. Finally, we drove over a bridge and made our way into Cebu City. Finally, the taxi stopped in front of a hotel. I asked the driver to wait, as I hurried into the hotel to make my phone call. The host at the guest house gave me directions and I returned to the taxi to continue my adventure. Eventually I was deposited at the guest house, exhausted and relieved.

                The next morning, at breakfast, my host asked me to tell my story to the maid who was serving us. I recounted what had happened the night before and a look of shock came over her face. She told me that I was very blessed because that is what bandits do to rob unsuspecting tourists.

                My nighttime drive was only the beginning of my experience. I was driven to my proper destination and introduced to the young pastor and his wife. The next week was one of the loneliest experiences of my life. I was surrounded by people, yet felt utterly alone and abandoned. The pastor didn’t seem to have a plan, and I began to wonder what I was doing there. Before we left Manilla, we had been instructed to allow the Filipino pastor to take the lead. We were there to assist him. That message didn’t reach my pastor. We spend almost a week waiting for the other person to take the lead. Finally, we figured out what was going on, and we were able to begin to work together. But I never fully lost my sense of loneliness, especially lying awake at night in the stifling heat and humidity.

                As I have been able to look back over that experience, I can see that I was never really alone. God was with me all the way. He directed me to that particular island to work along side of that particular pastor. He protected me on my midnight taxi ride. He gave me the strength to deal with the challenges of adapting to a culture very foreign to me. He also gave me the opportunity to share the gospel with a number of people. Because I was there, people were willing to listen to what I and the pastor had to say.

                King David must have felt lonely and abandoned quite often. After he had been anointed by God to be the next king of Israel, King Saul, out of jealousy, tried to kill David. David began a desperate adventure of running for his life, constantly being pursued by a jealous king. In the midst of this, David got his strength from the knowledge that no matter what his circumstances, God was always with him. David rested in the truth that he had not been abandoned by God. God had chosen him to be the next king of Israel and God would see to it that he reached that goal.

                We may not be running for our lives, but we may still feel lonely and abandoned. When we focus on our circumstances, our spirits can fall to painful depths. But if we will lift our eyes and focus on God’s promises, we can find the courage and the strength to both endure and even thrive. God knows all about what is going on in our lives. He is fully aware of what we need. We can trust Him to be our guide and to be our strength.

                Paul echoed David’s thoughts when he wrote about his confidence in the abiding presence of God.

Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

                 Both David and Paul assure us that if we place our faith in Christ, we are never truly alone. No matter what our circumstances in life, God has promised to be with us. Over and over again God promises that he will never leave us or abandon us. Our feeling of loneliness is very real, but it is not the entire story. Even when we feel alone, we are not. We can take our loneliness to God and He will embrace us with His love and grace.

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."