In Good Company

The promise that God will never leave or forsake us is one of the most powerful in all the Bible. The reality of that promise is that we as Christians are never alone. Many people have never experienced really being alone for any length of time, and therefore fail to realize the magnitude of this promise. I grew up dreaming of the opportunity of truly being alone. I loved hunting and the time I spent alone so much that I felt certain that if a little time alone was good, a life alone would be perfect. It took several years to finally find a way to make that dream come true.
The summer of 1986 I would finally know the truth of what it is like to live not just a few hours or days alone, but to actually be really alone. It was lonely! The absence of others with whom I could share the adventure robed the experiences of their power. Without this joy the adventure became just a journey that had no destination, and an event without purpose or meaning. Being really alone is frightening as you know that you are without hope, unable to call on others in a time of need. My belief that being alone would allow me to know real peace had come face to face with reality.

It is a very difficult thing to make the sacrifices to climb to the peak of your dreams only to discover that your ladder of success was on the wrong wall. But God brings victory from our defeats as He uses them to guide us to the cross. It was there in my loneliness that the promise I would never again be alone rang true for me. It was there that I cried out to God to show me the way and He was faithful.

“God with us” was the promise in the Bible with the greatest impact on my need. Because if God was with me what would I fear? If God was for me who or what could stand against me? These promises were true and full of grace but I struggled to believe that God would want to be with me or for me. Luke chapter 15 challenged me to realize that God really did love the lost. The story of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son continued to bring me back to the truth that seemed too good to be true. The fact the angels would celebrate, and that God would meet me while I was still a long way from home stood in direct contrast to my ideals. Perhaps that is the reason God allowed me to experience my dream so that there I might discover the truth that many of my ideals were not true.

I did finally submit to the truth and I have never been alone again. My God is not only for me but He is with me and that makes all the difference in the world. You see the company I keep is fully capable of delivering me from any circumstance. The company your with really can change your circumstances. The promise that I will never again be really alone is reason to celebrate. Let me close by sharing with you my wife’s favorite verse Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is with you, and He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

How great it will be to hear God singing!