Never Alone

Introduction

Barbara Weiser of Kewanee, Illinois recalls this converstation with her daughter when she was six:

"Mom, there are five things I want to be when I grow up."

"Oh, yeah? What are they?"

"I’m going to be a model, a movie star, a traveler and travel all around the world, and an artist and a singer."

"What about a mom?"

"I don’t know... I think that’s too hard for me."

Although I’m not a mother...I have a mother...and I know it is no easy business being a mom.

The Bible speaks of God having maternal or mother aspects in His care for his people.

Isaiah 66:13 NLT

I will comfort you there in Jerusalem as a mother comforts her child.”

Isaiah 49:15 NLT

“Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!”

Speaking of God’s protection and provision...

Deuteronomy 32:11–12 NLT

Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions.

Jesus uses similar imagery in Matthew 23:37

Matthew 23:37 MSG

“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Murderer of prophets! Killer of the ones who brought you God’s news! How often I’ve ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn’t let me.

These godly attributes are mimicked by the best moms....providing protection, affection, and direction to their children. And most importnatnly providing love...and teaching their children about the Lord.

Proverbs 1:8–9 MSG

Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you; never forget what you learned at your mother’s knee. Wear their counsel like flowers in your hair, like rings on your fingers.

I don’t know who said but it’s really true… “No matter how old you are, you never stop needing your mom.”

I know that’s not ture of all mothers...some have difficult, distant or nonexistent relationships with their mothers. Those wounds are deep and sometimes unable to heal. We ask for God’s all-sufficient grace in those situations. Whatever your relationship with your mother is or was...without our mothers or fathers....none of us would be here. We thank God for all mothers today...in every form they take in our lives.

Today

Today’s reaading is not about mother’s specifically...but it is about a parental relationship. Jesus says John 14:18-20

John 14:18–20 NLT

No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

It’s been said that when our parents die...we can feel like orphans....no matter our age. One of the members of the worship design team said that’s how they felt after their parents died.

Jesus tells his disciples he and the Father are one. Jesus tells his disciples...he is going away (speaking of his crucifixion and death)...and they are going to feel like orphans. They are going to feel unmoored...maybe even unloved...they will feel alone.

Last Sunday we talked about Thomas asking about the way Jesus is going...Philip asks to see the father.… in John 14:22

John 14:22 MSG

Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”

They all have questions about Jesus leaving them...about feeling orphaned and alone. Their core anxiety is “If Jesus leaves...what happens to us?”

Who are we...when we lose the person...in whom our identity is intertwined?

Jesus answers this core anxiety of the disciples...with a divine promise. I will not leave you as orphans. You will see me again...and as I live...you also will live. I in the father...the father in me...you in me...and I in you.

When You Feel Abandoned, Remember Feelings Are Not the Final Reality

We might feel abandoned or alone in this life....but Jesus does not say: “You will never feel alone.”

He says: “I will not leave you as orphans.” There is a difference.

We all experience seasons of:

grief

depression

spiritual dryness

unanswered prayer

loneliness

uncertainty

Our emotional experience is real—but it is not always an accurate theological interpreter.

The cross looked like abandonment.

The resurrection proved otherwise.

Practical Challenge

When you feel spiritually alone this week, say aloud:

“My feelings are real, but Jesus has promised not to abandon me.”

Stop Living Like Spiritual Orphans

An orphan mindset says:

I am on my own.

No one sees me.

No one will help me.

Everything depends on me.

If I fail, I am finished.

Signs of an Orphan Mindset

Do you:

carry every burden alone? refuse help? struggle to trust God? assume abandonment? believe you must “earn” belonging?

If so, this passage directly speaks to you. You belong. Your burdens are carried by Christ....not by you alone.

5. The Church Should Not Create Orphans

If Jesus refuses to leave his people abandoned, the church should reflect that same care.

Notice:

widows shut-ins grieving members visitors sitting alone divorced members struggling parents people quietly disappearing

Churches often unintentionally orphan people socially.

Congregational Challenge

Ask:

Who in our church might feel forgotten?

Then act.

call them visit them sit beside them invite them pray with them

Closing

No matter the situation you find yourself in today...you are not alone. Our feelings are not the lens through which we must understand who God is and our relationship with him. JEsus told his disciples they are never orphaned....that if he lives...they also will ilve...and Just as he and the Father are one (in each other)...Jesus and his followers are one and are in one another.

God is the loving mother or father...the loving parent that we may not have had in this life. But God says...this life is not all there is...there is more....there is life to come. We are to live in this world...not as abaonded orphans...but as chosen members of God’s own family. God is our eternal parent...who is always faithful...filled with love, grace, and forgiveness....who is willing even to become part of his own creation....and willingly die to pay the penalty of sin...showing that God is both just...and filled with amazing grace.

Friends...we can somtimes play the daisy game with God. God loves me...God loves me not...

That’s our feelings getting in the way of reality...that the one who created that daisy...created you and me...and the love of God the Father...God the Son...and God the Holy Spirit...is everlasting....and it is for you and me. Does God love you? Unequivocally...YES!

In and through Jesus the Christ...we are never abandoned....never alone.

Thanks be to God...AMEN.