Never Alone
Never AloNe
“Loneliness” is one of the most desolate words about a person’s existence. It is no respecter of age, race, nationality, social status, and intelligence. With 7.14 billion people populating the globe, this world is a very crowded place; yet we often feel very much alone, and terribly lonely.
Even before sin entered the world, the Creator declared that it is not good for man to be alone. God made us relational beings and gave us a capacity and a great need for friendship and companionship.
Have you ever been alone, really alone? If so, there’s good news. There is a friend—a best friend— who will never leave you or forsake you. This selection of articles from Our Daily Bread tells you more about this Friend.
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© 2014 by RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
iT is NoT Good Day 1
Today’s Bible Reading Genesis 2:15-25
In one prison system in the US, 25,000 of the most dangerous inmates endure solitary confinement in small concrete cells. They have virtually no contact with the outside world. An inmate at Oregon State Penitentiary said that the most difficult part about such isolation is “not being able to see somebody face to face . . . to communicate, to touch, to hug, to feel loved, to feel human.” This man’s words seem to scream, “I’m lonely! This is not the way it’s supposed to be.”
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
Genesis 2:18
The writer of Genesis would have agreed. After God created man, He acknowledged Adam’s loneliness, and said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him” (Genesis 2:18). In essence, God was saying that the man needed another person with whom he could be fully human. Although the immediate setting is companionship, in the larger context God is telling us that being fully human means enjoying relationship with other human beings.
No matter the cause of loneliness—sin, loss, shame, sickness, depression—God says this is “not good.” He created us to be in close relationship with others and with Him. Reach out and develop those needed friendships—for your sake and theirs. —Marvin Williams
Friendships can help dispel loneliness.
Day 2
BeNeFiTs oF FrieNdship
Today’s Bible Reading ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Cicero was one of the greatest thinkers of the Roman Empire. He was a skilled orator, lawyer, politician, linguist, and writer. Still today he is quoted for his clear prose and practical wisdom.
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.
ecclesiastes 4:9
For instance, of having friends he wrote: “Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.” He understood the double benefits of friendship along life’s journey. Nearly a millennium earlier, King Solomon had written about the value of friends as well. In Ecclesiastes we read, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble” (4:9-10). Certainly a life without friends makes our sojourn lonely and hard to bear.
That famous Roman and that Jewish king were right: Friends are important. Friends serve as confidants, counselors, and burden-sharers.
Think about your friends. Have you been neglecting those God has provided to share your joys and sorrows? If so, seek out one of your friends for fellowship this week. Remember, “two are better than one,” because a friend can double our joy and divide our grief.
Dennis Fisher
Friends are flowers in the garden of life.
3
humAN love isN’T eNouGh
Today’s Bible Reading Romans 8:28-39
Security and significance are two essential elements of emotional health. If we feel we are safe from harm as well as safe from rejection and loneliness, we are blessed with those two essentials. Additionally, if we know that we are viewed with affection and appreciation by at least some of the people who matter to us, that gives us a sense of value.
Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. romans 8:39
Consider what God’s Word says in Romans 8 about our security and significance. “If God is for us, who can ever be against us” (v.31)? Later we are told that nothing can separate the believer “from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vv.35-39). These verses indeed show how much God truly values us!
Even the best of human love is insufficient to give us the security and significance we need. Why? One reason is that man’s life is fleeting. People grow old and die, and love eventually comes to an end. Another reason is that in personal relationships, we know that people are sinful, fickle, and unfaithful.
We need the eternal love of God, who is love. He views each of us as priceless. And the gospel reveals that we have such love in the Person of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. His love will never let us go.
Vernon Grounds
Our greatest security is found in the eternal love of the eternal God.
liFeTime GuArANTee Day 4
Today’s Bible Reading DeuteRonomy 31:1-8
Three years ago I bought a suitcase with a lifetime guarantee. “We don’t care who breaks it,” the manufacturer said, “we’ll repair or replace it free—forever.” To its credit, the company repaired it twice, just as promised. But a few weeks ago I learned that the business had filed for bankruptcy and its future was in doubt. If the company goes under, so does the guarantee.
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.
Deuteronomy 31:8
In a world where we can’t always depend on guarantees, there is one promise we can trust. Throughout Scripture we find the Lord’s pledge to be with His people. In Deuteronomy 31 we read Moses’ assuring words to Joshua: “[The Lord] will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you” (v.8).
This promise is repeated in the New Testament: “For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). The promise of God’s unfailing presence with us is the key to living with confidence and contentment.
No matter how many pledges are broken by people, God’s promises will last through all time and eternity. Because He is eternal, He can give us an eternal guarantee. —
David McCasland
Every promise of God comes with an eternal guarantee.
Day 5
The FrieNd oF The loNely
Today’s Bible Reading John 15:9-17
Engraved on a tombstone were words that touched the heart of author Max Lucado. The epitaph did not give the dates of her birth or death. It included only her name, the names of her two husbands, and this melancholy mini-biography: Sleeps, but rests not. Loved, but was loved not. Tried to please, but pleased not. Died as she lived—alone.
I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends.
John 15:15
Those words can be applied to the lives of unhappy multitudes of people who feel lonely and unloved. They may try to reach out and make friends, but their best efforts often prove futile.
The gospel has a message for any of us who, like that woman, feel we belong to that frustrated legion of the lonely and unloved. It’s the good news about the Friend who cared enough to die as our substitute on the cross. It’s about the Friend who loves each of us with a love that can never be alienated, who sticks closer than a brother, and who understands us completely.
That Friend is Jesus Christ. When in faith we reach out and grasp His downstretched, nail-pierced hand, we are gripped by the love that will never let us go. Have you asked Jesus to be your Friend?
Vernon Grounds
Welcome to the privilege of friendship with God.
Never AloNe
Today’s Bible Reading Psalm 139:1-12
Have you ever been alone—really alone?
I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
Psalm 139:7
Many people can answer yes because they feel that way every day. I’m not referring to people who live in a remote cabin on a mountaintop far from civilization. I’m talking about those who feel alone in a crowded mall, or in a church full of people.
I’m referring to people who simply cannot find anyone to connect with. Perhaps they are new to a community. Maybe they have lost a spouse. It could be that they simply feel alone because they think of themselves as different, unusual, and left out of normal communication with others.
Have you ever been alone, really alone? If so, there’s good news. If you have invited Christ into your life as Savior and Lord, you’re never alone. You have His constant presence. Here is His promise: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). And from God the Father: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV). Recognize with the psalmist that there’s no place you can go where God is not with you (Psalm 139:7).
Sure, we all need flesh-and-blood companions, but let’s not overlook the reality of the Lord’s presence. We can depend on it. With Him by our side, we’re never alone. —Dave Branon
God’s presence with us is one of His presents to us.