Has it ever seemed that you have been alone in the world except for ...

[joined2him]

Re: Has it ever seemed that you have been alone in the world except for ...

How nice to be reminded of this thread today!

It nudged my memory, of recent readings from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest.

September 27's observations (entitled The "Go" of Renunciation) are about Jesus's response to the fellow who said "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." (Luke 9:57). Regarding verse 58, He writes, "These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, Myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, '...the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.'"

The next day's devotional expands upon this. "Our Lord never places anyone's personal holiness above everything else when He calls a disciple. Jesus' primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having a relationship with Him in which there are no other relationships."

These two devotionals really hit home with me last month, as I've been struggling through an intense period of getting RID of things in my life that weigh me down and obstruct my view of our Lord. Lots to think about there....and this thread seems spot on in going with the Spirit's flow.

[DeeDee50]

Re: Has it ever seemed that you have been alone in the world except for ...

the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. There has been a few times in my life where it seemed like this to me. These were times when I had to stand by what seemed to be the truth to me. In some ways they were lonely times, lonely from not having a human being understanding HOWEVER these were also the times when I felt the most attuned to God.

They call these times in the wilderness. I am going through such a time right now.
The thing is, I feel more lonely around people who don't understand me, than I do when I am actually alone.
No one likes to be in the wilderness, but I enjoy the quiet time with the Lord.
When my wilderness time ends, my life tends to get quite colorful.

[Michael (limmuwd)]

Re: Has it ever seemed that you have been alone in the world except for ...

The Prophet Elijah often felt that way. Living in an increasingly sinful nation, and even surrounded by other prophets who didn’t understand the revelation that God had entrusted to him, Elijah cried out to God, “I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” (1Kings 19:14)

He had gone to hide away in the wilderness, fleeing from those who were persecuting him, having found none to stand with him. And God heard the cry of Elijah and told him plainly,
“Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (1Kings 19:18)

Yes indeed, as others have mentioned in this thread, we can go through lonely periods along our Journey, even if we are surrounded by family and even church family. I am often there myself. Our part is to remain faithful and uncompromising, that we may come out the other side strengthened and spiritually nourished. And may we be encouraged to know that we are not alone. The Lord is with us, even if we may not feel the Presence for a season. And as well, God has others whom He has called that desire the same holiness and righteousness that we strive for, and have their eyes fixed on the same goal as do we… union with the Father; the “rest of God”, Tabernacles.

Peace & Blessings, Wisdom & Strength to all who walk with Jesus.

Amen.

https://to-him-who-overcomes.com/

[randyk]

Re: Has it ever seemed that you have been alone in the world except for ...

the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. There has been a few times in my life where it seemed like this to me. These were times when I had to stand by what seemed to be the truth to me. In some ways they were lonely times, lonely from not having a human being understanding HOWEVER these were also the times when I felt the most attuned to God.

I agree with what so many say in response to your question. However, I would add this. I have a brother who is a committed Christian like me. And it's a real blessing to fellowship with him. I don't feel like I'm a lone martyr. He goes through the same things I do. Paul talked a little about this in 2 Cor 1:

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

My wife also is a committed Christian like me. We are able to share common experiences daily. God doesn't always want us to suffer alone. I think He wants us to find fellowship, not just with Christ in heaven, spiritually, but also with brothers and sisters in Christ on earth. They may be few and far between, but it's what I think God had in mind.

[Christinme]

Re: Has it ever seemed that you have been alone in the world except for ...

I agree with what so many say in response to your question. However, I would add this. I have a brother who is a committed Christian like me. And it's a real blessing to fellowship with him. I don't feel like I'm a lone martyr. He goes through the same things I do. Paul talked a little about this in 2 Cor 1:

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

My wife also is a committed Christian like me. We are able to share common experiences daily. God doesn't always want us to suffer alone. I think He wants us to find fellowship, not just with Christ in heaven, spiritually, but also with brothers and sisters in Christ on earth. They may be few and far between, but it's what I think God had in mind.

Yes I understand the importance of having committed Christians around us ... I would like to note it does not seem to be like this ALL THE TIME or even MOST THE TIME I specifically said:

There has been a few times in my life where it seemed like this to me.

[Jacob's Ladder]

Re: Has it ever seemed that you have been alone in the world except for ...

We will find dry times when there will not even be one obedient (or aware) christian to look to for encouragement in those dry times.

scenario one:
From my personal experience, and also from lessons of similar situations found in our bibles, I think are intentionally put in our Earthy path by God's loving intent to grow us and or lead us to become totally depend on Him.
He could have done this because thus far we have not yet learnt that lesson through an easier opportunity in our life.

scenario two:
But, other times when I've found my self in that situation was only because I have alienated myself from other christians by my own communication or behaviors.
But then again there was a lesson to be learnt from God in that scenario too.

scenario three:
Or, maybe He is preparing us to minister to someone else in that same situation either now or in the future.

IMO, the solution for the first two of those scenarios was self-examination, examining ourselves against God's lessons and warning found in His inspired recorded words, OT and NT words.
Encouragement can be found in the first two scenarios in: God chastens those He loves, amen !

The third scenario, well it just brings us eternal rewards, reward that moths nor rust can corrupt.

[saved22]

Re: Has it ever seemed that you have been alone in the world except for ...

Yes I feel the same, very lonely and have no believers around me in real life. Hopefully I'll feel better here. God bless.

[Jacob's Ladder]

Re: Has it ever seemed that you have been alone in the world except for ...

Yes I feel the same, very lonely and have no believers around me in real life. Hopefully I'll feel better here. God bless.

You will meet some here.

[Masterlux]

If you have ever written an essay, you must understand what it is about! This is a difficult essay or text! Here is a completely different train of thought! It is desirable that this is written by a person who knows his subject! Recommend: www.grademiners.com

[randyk]

the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. There has been a few times in my life where it seemed like this to me. These were times when I had to stand by what seemed to be the truth to me. In some ways they were lonely times, lonely from not having a human being understanding HOWEVER these were also the times when I felt the most attuned to God.

Definitely! In reality, we are alone in our choices, in our thoughts, and in knowing how we feel. This is because we were created by God to be individuals, to stand alone before God in judgment as to how we respond to His word.

This may seem like a cold reality, but do we really want to be so transparent that we can never keep things to ourselves? Do we really want to let out all of our flaws and weaknesses?

And so, our greatest friend is the one who knows the most, and who cares the most. It's the best way.

[Rogerrs]

It’s true that social isolation is a risky business. If you look at it epidemiologically, it’s a surprisingly powerful bad thing, says Steve Cole, genomics researcher and professor of medicine at UCLA in California UPSers Login

[Daniel!]

Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11)

Be positive. The darkness scatters when our light shines for us and those around us.

We live with him for his Glory.

[Joshua1]

I feel like I'm alone every second of every day, but I know God is with me. When I know God is with me, I both feel and perceive his presence there. I think of psalm 17:15 "As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness." Also more than just reading, I truly find that the more I pray to God, the closer I feel to him. Seriously. I believe as Christians we can feel and know God's presence in real-time. Okay fine there may be limits to it but I just wanted to let you all know that without becoming too controversial or getting into topics we shouldn't. I've repented of my former sins, I'm going by what God tells me in the Bible. "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." Thanks brethren for the prayers in these dark times.

Brotherly in Christ Jesus the Lord,

Josh