by David Brenneman
"O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way." Psalms 139:1-24.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalms 23:1-6.
Never alone. I have had a few people in my life attempt to tell me that should I go down some path they don't agree with that I would be alone. What's more surprising is those were Believer's telling me this. However the truth is here in the Scriptures. We're never alone.
Why Psalms 23 with Psalms 139? Why not? I see overtones of each chapter within the other.
When getting ready to take on Goliath, David told Saul that this uncircumcised Philistine would be no different than the lion and the bear that the Lord was with David to defeat.
You see, David learned early on in life that he and his God were an unbeatable combination. He was never alone no matter who he faced.
We too are never alone. Once the Spirit has set His seal upon us for having come to Christ for salvation...we're inseparable. Not by our hand or anyone else's.
Satan's schemes involve getting people who are indeed in Christ to believe that the silence they experience is a sign that the Father left them, that the Lord Jesus abandoned them, that the Spirit walked out on them.
Let's cut to the chase.
"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39.
Anyone who tells you that in the path you are taking, that you know has been shown to you is the direction the Lord wants you to go, is going to lead to you being alone....don't believe them.
Add to our Scriptures this morning the one where Jesus Himself says that He will never leave us or forsake us. Therefore anyone saying such things to you or I are not speaking for God.
"For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3.
In our desires, an maybe in theirs, is to see a resolution to a situation that in truthfulness might not be what God wants or where He wants us to be. We read the other day of how Jesus knowingly sent His Disciples into a storm knowing there was no other way for truth to be realized by the Disciples but in that way. They would NEED to go through it to grow in Christ in the way that the Father knew they needed.
Quite literally we are either growing in Christ to be more like Jesus or we're conforming to the world. A person leaves civilian life to become a soldier. He or she will never achieve becoming the best soldier he or she can or will be if they're not focused on becoming the best.
Jesus, through the Spirit, teaches us all things and will bring to remembrance all that He commanded only if we're intent on and focused on learning to be whom He wants us to be...even if those around us don't understand.
We are going to individually stand before Jesus to give an account of our lives. Not as a group. Not speaking for someone else.
People in our lives may or may not see what God is doing in our lives because quite frankly they do not have all the facts. They do not know where you are in your sanctification. They see a sliver and think they have the whole portrait.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.". While people in your life might have insight in some similar areas...we are still to trust in the Lord with all our heart. Remember 3 of 4 of Job's friends weren't giving right advice to Job. Job's own Wife didn't.
We read this morning that in every intimate detail our Savior and Lord knows us. From before we were born and every single second since. He chose us. He will return one day for us.
Be encouraged to know that you and Jesus are a majority in any situation. While it's grand to have other Believers in Christ alongside of you...Scriptures say that sometimes that might not be the case.
Stay in the Word of God. Stay in prayer. Set your mind on the things that are above and not on the things that are of this world. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit.
Alone? For those in Christ? Never.
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28. Doesn't say that others will understand it.
For those who are in Christ are in a personal relationship with Jesus. Sometimes what's shared or learned between you and Jesus is just for between you and Jesus.
Your relationship with Jesus is beyond even what we understand of what 'personal' means.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore we are never alone.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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