Never Alone…
Alone, unwanted, rejected, abandoned… Do you find yourself believing some of these lies? I know for me personally, that I have struggled with some of these at different seasons in my life. We all go through lonely seasons, but that does not mean that we are ever truly on our own. I know someone who promises to never leave us or forsake us, to be our present help in times of trouble. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
But just because we know we are not alone doesn’t mean that we will never feel alone or abandoned. We have all had friends or family in our life come and go and those can be very hard seasons. You may find yourself blaming it on God, others, or even yourself: “I am alone because of….” Fill in the blank, what is the lie the enemy has told you to believe about yourself?
Don’t allow the enemy to tell you who you are. Don’t find your identity in lies or the world. God calls you to find your identity in Him! Turn to scripture and remind yourself who God says you are in Him: Loved, chosen, called, wanted, never alone and a child of God… When I find myself feeling alone, I turn to Christ and remind myself of what God says about me. I remind myself of all that Christ did for me so that I could follow Him “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
One way to remind yourself about who God says you are is to write verses on sticky notes and put them in different places. It’s a great way to turn your mind back on God and His love for you. Turn on worship music while you’re in the car and find time to sit and talk with Him.
Be real with God. He wants you to be honest about your emotions. I have found one of the best ways to process the things that I struggled with is to be completely honest with God about what I am feeling.
One important thing is to not isolate yourself when you are going through a hard season. Do not pull away from the people around you who truly care about you. Trust me, this only makes it harder to face the lies the enemy wants you to believe. The enemy wants you to feel alone and isolate you from others.
Community is so important, even Jesus surrounded Himself with other believers! But Jesus also knew when He needed to take time alone to be with God in prayer.
I had gone through a rough season of feeling abandoned and alone, and I pulled away from a lot of people because I didn’t want them to have to go through what I was going through or because I believed that they just wouldn’t understand. But the thing is others may not always understand the pain you are going through or be able to relate to you, but I know they can at least be praying for you in those seasons. As believers, we are called to pray for one another. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).
Something that has helped me to grow is to take a journal and write down all that I am feeling, fears, hopes, and worries, then after I finish that, I write down a prayer over all of those things and release it to God. This practice has helped me to let go of a lot of fears and worries in my life.
God desires to have an open and real relationship with you. He can handle your greatest joys and your greatest sorrows. God desires to know your heart. Don’t hold anything back from Him. There is nothing that can change the love God has for you. His love is unconditional! “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).