Not Alone

There is an old proverb of unknown origin that speaks of a man who has fallen in a hole and sees no way out.

He hollers for help, and eventually a rugged man walks by and, upon hearing the man’s plea and seeing his predicament, tells the man that he needs to pick himself up by the bootstraps and find a way out on his own, before going on his way. 

A holy man walks by and hears the man’s desperate cry. He tells him that he will say a prayer for him that he will find his way out and then scurries off.

Finally, an ordinary man walks by the hole and sees the first man and his situation. He listens to the man’s plea for help.

Then, without warning, the ordinary man jumps down into the hole with the first man. “Why did you do that?” the first man asks. The ordinary man replies, “Because I have been in this hole before, and I know the way out.”

We serve a LIVING GOD who identifies with us in all of our weaknesses.

Hebrews 4:15 NLT

15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

Jesus understands the circumstances we are in throughout our lives and is there to help!

Hebrews 13:5 NLT

5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

Psalm 94:14 NLT

14 The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession.

Today you may be going through circumstances or trials, you may be feeling isolated and alone, it may seem that no one cares. You may be deep in the pit like the story I opened with, and no one can help you, BUT JESUS!!!

He has been there before, and HE KNOWS THE WAY OUT!!!!

It is time to trust in HIM!

The Lord spoke these words to His people...

Isaiah 43:1–2 NLT

1 But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah 43:5 NLT

5 “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!

1. When You Stand for Rightouesness

There is an all familiar story in the Bible that reminds us that when we stand for righteousness, we are not alone!

We are familiar with the story from Chapter 3 of Daniel - three Hebrew youths who refused to bow to the idol set up in the land honoring the King as god. They were thrown in the a fiery furnace so hot that the guards casting them in were burned and scorched to death while throwing them in...

Daniel 3:23–25 NLT

23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames. 24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied. 25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”

Daniel 3:28 NLT

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

in verse 29 the King exclaims - THERE IS NO OTHER GOD WHO CAN RESCUE LIKE THIS!

Here is the truth, if you stand for righteousness and serve only the LORD - HE WILL NOT ABANDON YOU EVEN IN THE FIERIEST TRIAL...

These three youth stated whether God saves us or allows us to be consumed, we will not deny him.

Daniel 3:16–18 NLT

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

TODAY church we need to determine WHOM WE ARE GOING TO SERVE!!!

Our society is calling on us to forsake worshipping God, to forsake living in HIS righteousness and to follow the world’s idols and sense of immorality -

Many are afraid if they do not they will be rejected by friends and family and be alone! However, we will not be abandoned or left alone, the same God we serve will be with us in the FIRE!

2. When You are in the Storms of Life

Storms create doubt!!! Whenever the circumstances of life toss around from side to side, with waves crashing over our heads, when we feel that we are drowning in trouble and sorrow and loneliness - it becomes easy to look at how big the storm and how high the waves and doubt that God can see us through.

However, the Lord said in that passage in Isaiah He would be with us in the deep waters.

Seldom does one drown in the shallows, it is the depths of trouble that we feel overwhelmed!

Another very familiar story in Scripture to us when the disciples were in the storm in the middles of the sea, and they thought they were alone and that they would die, until they saw Jesus walking on the water and coming out to them...

Matthew 14:24–32 NLT

24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

That is us!!! Trying to have faith, but failing to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus....

Hebrews 12:1–2 NLT

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

We get into the midst of the storm and it seems to overwhelm our emotions, our fears, our faith wanes because we take our eyes off of Christ and set the on the raging storm around us, we fear we will drown and our fear leads us to sinking down in the waters.

Jesus tells us - keep your eyes on me and hold fast in faith...

We are not alone in the storm, we are not alone in the deep waters, HE IS THERE WITH US helping us to RISE ABOVE the depths of despair and trouble!!!!

Take HIS HAND and reach safety today!!!

3. When the Enemy Surrounds You

I think one of the greatest times we feel alone is when we are facing battles and feel surrounded by the enemy!

We feel like we are about to be overtaken by evil forces that seek to destroy us!!!

I want to remind you today, you are not alone!

The Lord has sent His mighty heavenly forces to fight for you! You may not see them in the natural, but they are there!

There was a time when ELISHA kept giving the King of Israel the plans of the Aramean army helping the troops over and over again to avoid the plots of the enemy...

The king of Aram sent out troops to destroy Elisha and his servant. They awoke in the morning to discover the army had surrounded them to take them hostage...

Elisha had no fear, (I am pretty sure he was aware they were coming), but he prayed for his servant to see what he already knew to be true...

2 Kings 6:16–17 NLT

16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

In that moment the servant noticed that there were more ARMIES OF HEAVEN surrounding them then armies of the enemy!!!

Elisha prayed for the Aramean army to be struck with blindness and then he led them to the capital of Israel where they were then surrounded by the King of Israel and his armies. There they toyed with them, through a big feast and sent them back to their King defeated at their assignment.

CHURCH- it may look like we are surrounded by the enemy, but in reality the enemy is surrounded!!!

We are not alone!!!!

DO NOT FEAR!!!

GOD IS WITH US!!!

CONCLUSION

Realize today that the Lord is beside us and he will not abandon us!!!

The very name given to Christ at birth — EMMANUEL means GOD WITH US!!!

God is with us in His son Jesus Christ...

Whether the fire of persecution for following Christ and standing for RIGHTEOUSNESS, not bowing to the idols of this world....

or the

DEPTHS of despair and waters of trouble in life’s storms that just happen

or

When the enemy surrounds us....

We are not ALONE!