Over and over again we read throughout Scripture that we are not alone. Jesus will not leave us nor forsake us and He is with us always. Of this we can be certain. But why do we feel all alone sometimes? Why do we feel like no one cares? Feelings of insignificance are a part of the human experience. But when we feel these feelings of insignificance most strongly, we need to remember most clearly that WE ARE NOT ALONE. Jesus is with us. The message of Christmas is the message of the incarnation; Christ became man and came to us. Emmanuel, “God with us.” Always remember this about Jesus: He came to you, He came for you, He came to be with you, and He is all about you. You are never alone.
I think of the many stories in the New Testament where various people were seemingly all alone and Jesus intersected their life, circumstances, and need, and made all the difference in the world for them. Consider these stories as I share them in an acrostic form:
A—lienated. John 8
The adulteress woman in John 8 was thrown at Jesus feet and about to be stoned to death for her sin. She was alienated. She was all alone. Or was she? Nobody would speak up for her. Nobody would defend her. Except One…Jesus. Jesus told the legalistic crowd that if they were perfect they could throw the first stone. Of course, none of them were, and so they left one by one after dropping their stones. Jesus taught her and the crowd about grace. He let the woman know she was not alone.
L—oveless. John 4
The woman at the well was a Samaritan. Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans and men didn’t talk to women in Jesus’ day. But Jesus blew those paradigms out of the water and engaged in conversation with the woman. He knew everything about her and knew she was broken and felt all alone. She had been kicked to the curb by 5 previous husbands and the man she was with now wouldn’t even marry her. She felt unloved, hopeless, alone. Until she met Jesus. In Jesus she learned of true love. She found forgiveness. And she understood grace for the first time in her life. She was not alone. Jesus loved her and came for her.
O—stracized. John 9
The blind and lepers were ostracized in Jesus’ day. They were outcasts that nobody cared about and they felt alone. Jesus encountered such a blind man in John 9. He told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. He did and was healed. Jesus not only cared about this man, but healed him. He proved to this man he was not alone and was loved.
N—obody. Luke 8
There was a woman with a blood disease who was relegated to the scrapheap of society. Someone with her condition was not allowed to enter the city. She was an insignificant nobody. Nobody cared. Nobody could help. Nobody loved her. She was a nobody…or so she thought. One day she heard about Jesus and went to him and pressed through the crowd to touch his coat. She was healed instantly. To Jesus she was a somebody. And so are you.
E—xcluded. John 5
The crippled man in John 5 felt alone. Excluded from entering the waters because of his condition and having no one to help him, his situation was hopeless. Until Jesus came along. Jesus came to him to help him and show His love for Him. He healed him on the spot and told him to get up and walk. The man didn’t need to enter the pool, He needed Jesus. Jesus showed this man he was not excluded any longer.
These people were not alone and neither are you. Always remember, Jesus loves you. He came for you and to you. He is about you and will always be with you. Always.