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.
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."
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