Life as a Christian Woman

DAYS OF ELIJAH

Words and Music by Robin Mark

These are the days of Elijah,
Declaring the word of the Lord:
And these are the days of Your servant Moses,
Righteousness being restored.
And though these are days of great trial,
Of famine and darkness and sword,
Still, we are the voice in the desert crying
‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord!’

Behold He comes riding on the clouds,
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call;
Lift your voice, it’s the year of jubilee,
And out of Zion’s hill salvation comes.

These are the days of Ezekiel,
The dry bones becoming as flesh;
And these are the days of Your servant David,
Rebuilding a temple of praise.
These are the days of the harvest,
The fields are as white in Your world,
And we are the labourers in Your vineyard,
Declaring the word of the Lord!

There’s no God like Jehovah.
There’s no God like Jehovah!

Click here to listen to Twila Paris singing Days of Elijah on YouTube.com

What a song! The first time I heard Days of Elijah, I got chills. The verses, all referencing Old Testament prophecy, were so Biblical in nature that it felt like I had just sung my way through a Bible study. The first verse speaks to the times of great trial, challenges all around. And yet, the verse goes on, we are the voice in the midst of all the pain, all the trials, reminding the world that our Lord is coming… Prepare!

The second verse speaks on rebuilding the temple, the coming harvest of souls, and declares that we are the workers, the labourers for God, declaring his word.

How humbling and exhilarating! We are here, working toward our God, serving Him in the fields. The grunt work, some would say.

But then comes the chorus… Behold He comes.

Enough said!

Imagine looking to the skies and seeing our Lord and Saviour, our Christ, emerging through the clouds, trumpets blaring, the heavenly chorus singing. Our salvation arrives.

My favorite songs often reference heaven, Christ’s return. I can’t imagine being in the middle of my day, hearing trumpets, looking up and seeing my Saviour coming for me… ME!

These are trying times. Foreclosures, banks going belly up, employment rises along with gas prices. But what a wonderful future we are guaranteed! How can we be broken when the Great Physician is one prayer away? Earthly worries will fall away, and we will be with our Father for eternity.

There is no God like Jehovah!

He went out, not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8

I love the book of Hebrews. So much of it deals with living a life based on faith. As Christians walking in faith, we may not know where we are headed, what plans God has for us. But we do know that living a life of faith means loving and being loved by God. It means trusting Him. Faith is not based on understanding and reasoning, it is based in the knowledge of Him, the one who leads us, loves us, and will not fail us.

The phrase “Stepping out in faith” has always fascinated me. As a child, I imagined someone stepping out into a vast abyss, fearless. As an adult, I grew to understand that, while the phrase may not literally mean “stepping” out into nothingness, it means trusting God will all aspects of your life.

And it most definitely does not mean that we are fearless! In fact, we wouldn’t be our human selves if we didn’t have fear.

Living a life of faith is not a constant celebration of reaching for the clouds. It is not one “mountaintop experience” after another. No, faith is rooted in the mundane, daily movements of life. A life of faith must be lived with consistency. You can’t trust God with one portion of your life and omit Him from another. You must learn to come to Him and trust Him in all areas, no matter how small or insignificant they may appear to you.

And a life of faith can only be rooted in prayer. Prayer is our lifeline to God, our “open 24 hours a day” confessional and advice hotline. When we commune with God through prayer, we are building our faith at the same time.

As we come to know Him better, we will be better able to lean on Him, understand His love for us, and rely on our faith in Him.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
words & music by Helen H. Lemmel, 1922

Turn your eyes up Jesus.
Look full in his glorious face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

There is so much evil in the world. It is heartbreaking and distracting beyond words. The evil that men do to one another has the ability to overtake our senses, overwhelm our ability to conceive of it.

But there is a peace and a sanity that exists in a mind that focuses on heaven. Why? Because we know the ending… eternal life in Heaven.

The song that I reference above, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, is a wonderful example of a life that faces Heaven, yet acknowledges this life is hard, that we face obstacles that may seem overwhelming.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Evil is a fact our our lives, and some Christians have to stare it more directly in the face that we can even begin to understand. Currently, there are Christians world-wide facing the threat of death just for being faithful to our God. Christians in parts of India are suffering greatly, with churches being burned down, and the threat of injury and death very real. But they stand tall in their faith. How? Because they know how their stories will end… face-to-face with our Father God, basking in His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!

When we read of the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we pray. We pray for healing in a world that turns from God. We pray that our fellow Christians will be strong in the face of this evil. We pray that their tormentors will accept the forgiveness and redemption that God so willingly wants to give them. But we must also remember, and be comforted by the fact, that these saints on earth face those who want to destroy them with the courage and knowledge that what awaits them on the other side is a victory… a victory over evil, over evil-doers, and over death itself.

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Those Christians that face this horrible persecution rest on the words above. They are following the Great Commission. They are going to teach those who are lost of a God of love and light.

How many times have we all read of a persecuted Christian, facing death, who is so at peace, so calm? It never fails to confound those who spread evil. But Christians know what those who wish to destroy them cannot understand. What awaits erases what comes before.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in India, please visit www.yesugarden.blogspot.com. It is written by a wonderful sister in Christ, Amrita. Although I will most likely never meet her face to face on this earth, I look forward to the day that we stand together at the throne of God.

To listen to Alan Jackson sing Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, click here.

Every few days I check out a website called Christian News Headlines (ChristianNewsHeadlines.com). Headlines from around the world that pertain to Christianity or the Christian world can be found there, and a simple click will lead you to the full story.

Today a read a story that I wanted to make you all aware of. A few weeks ago I wrote an article on persecution of Christians in China (Christianity in China, August 11, 2008). While the nation of China put on a beautiful face for the world during the Olympics, and claims to have religious freedom, we know that is not true. For me, the story now has a face.

Two days prior to the start of the Olympics, on August 6, Pastor Zhang “Bike” Mingxuan (known affectionately as “Pastor Bike”) was arrested, along with his wife and a fellow pastor, Wu Jianghe. He was in a hotel getting ready to go pick up some medicine, when the electricity in his room was turned off. Using his cell phone, he called Bob Fu, president of China Aid.

“He told me that the electricity had been shut off, just in his room, nowhere else,” Bob Fu said. “He was talking to me when they came to arrest him.”

It is believed they are being held at Jing Ba Lu Branch PSB office in Zhengzhou City, the Capital of Henan Province.

Pastor Bike came to Christ in 1986, and immediately began doing missionary work in his hometown. But soon, his love for Christ combined with his love for the people of China pushed him to move beyond his hometown to minister to thousands. In 1998, Pastor Bike began riding his bike around China (hence the nickname!), spreading the word to all who would listen. He traveled 10,000 miles, and he passed out simple business cards that read, “Believe in Jesus. Be Granted Eternal Life.”

As you can imagine, he has been a constant target of the Chinese government. And despite opportunities to leave that country, he has turned them down, preferring to stay in his homeland to lead them to Jesus.

Pastor Bike is president of the Chinese House Church Alliance. You may remember that literally millions of Chinese Christians meet secretly in private houses all around the country. He is a bold force in that nation, and has never backed down in his desire to spread Christ’s name. He will cross borders to hand out Bibles. He will openly share the Good News with those under the age of 18, and has led thousands to be saved. In China, these are all crimes. He has also been a key to the creation of the China Prayer Bands, designed to let Christians around the world know of the persecution faced by their brothers and sisters in Christ in China.

The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association have a website, “FreePastorBike.com” where one can sign a petition that will be forwarded to Chinese Ambassador Mr. Zhou Wenzhong. The message the two groups hope to send to the Chinese government is that the world is aware, and will not forget.

I don’t know if an online petition can help. But I do know that we can all join in prayer for Pastor Bike, and for the millions of Christians in China and around the world who are persecuted, who do not enjoy the freedom of worship that many of us take for granted. Christians who risk their lives and the lives of those they love to worship our risen Saviour.

Please take time to say a prayer today…

YouTube/BBC video in which Pastor Bike is featured about 1 minute in Click Here

A close game between bitter rivals. Suddenly, one of the players goes down injured. As he lays there, the announcers say, “This puts everything into perspective.”

Our perspective on life needs constant tweaking. One minute we are yelling at our team to hit harder, then a player is injured and we get a different “perspective” on the game.

God’s perspective is unlimited and eternal. Ours is temporal and limited by our humanness. While God’s vision is perfect and clear, ours tends to be distorted by our world. When Christ was in the desert facing temptation, Satan tempted him by appealing to his human side, telling him he could achieve greatness without the coming pain of the cross. Later, Peter tells Christ the same thing.

Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God’s”
Matthew 16:23

Peter recognized the Jesus was Messiah, but he forsook God’s perspective and evaluated the situation based on his human-vision.

Satan is always trying to tempt us by taking our focus away from God, to look at life through worldly-eyes. But adjusting our perspective, looking at things as God would have us look at them, helps us stay true to His vision.

Moses begged God to take his mission away. He was a poor speaker, and was afraid he would embarrass God when he spoke to Pharaoh. He pleaded with God to send someone else. But God chose Moses, and spoke through him. If God asks us to do something, He will give us the tools to get the job done. If the job requires skills that we don’t have, He will provide them as needed.

We must put aside our world-view and trust God’s perspective. He will not fail.

Sometimes I just feel so darn inadequate.

Today I was speaking with a dear friend who is going through major upheaval in her life. Her faith remains strong, but her heart aches. For more than an hour I tried to find the right things to say, things that would lift her spirits. Instead I kept saying, “It will get better.”

Duh. Bet that helped a bunch!

When we got off the phone, I just sat there. Why couldn’t I come up with something, ANYTHING, that would help? Why did it seem that, when my friend needed me most, my brain decided to take a leave of absence?

I turned to my Bible. And I found great comfort in my inadequacy there.

One of the greatest leaders in the Bible, Moses, struggled with feelings of inadequacy.

“Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You will lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” “But who am I to appear before Pharaoh?” Moses asked God. “How can you expect me to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:1-22

Moses felt unprepared to take on the task that God had uniquely chosen for him. He was to speak in front of Pharaoh, yet was a poor speaker. He was to lead a nation out of captivity, yet he was overwhelmed by the task.

But God worked through Moses. He went before Pharaoh, he spoke as the leader he was, and he led the Israelites from slavery to the Promised Land. God worked through Moses inadequacy to rescue His people!

We don’t have to be perfectly prepared for every task. In fact, it goes against our humanness. But God does not ask us to be perfect, He only asks us to obey, to listen, to allow ourselves to be used by Him.

He will use our inadequacies to His strength. He will provide words where we have none, if we will only allow Him to work through us, to His glory.

I don’t know if my mumblings and ramblings helped my friend. But I pray that in my woefully lacking words, God spoke to her. After all, His words are the words of life!

What do you do when your Christian spirit goes numb, disappears? I don’t mean a crisis of faith. Your faith is still strong, but something is missing in your soul.

It happens to all of us. It sneaks up on us and catches us unaware. Suddenly we realize that we feel apart from God, despite our constant search for Him.

Mother Teresa, who spent her life in God’s service, felt separated from Him so deeply that she wrote her mentors letters that begged for answers. She felt lonely and alone. It appears from her letters that her period of pain began shortly after her mission in the slums of Calcutta in 1948 (a mission she had begged, pleaded and nagged her superiors for over a period of years). As she dove into the underbelly of the world, a darkness overtook her spirit, a darkness that lasted through most of her ministry

In a book entitled Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday), she expresses through letters to her superiors, confessors and spiritual confidants that she is suffering from God’s perceived silence.

Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear.
— Mother Teresa to the Rev. Michael Van Der Peet, September 1979

Many non-Christians have called Mother Teresa’s agony proof that there is no god. But note that she says that Jesus has a special love for the reverend. She is not denying in any way God’s existence, but longs to hear His voice.

A feeling a separation from God does not negate His existence. The Catholic Church has long had a term for this period in one’s faith-walk, called the “Dark Night of the Soul.” St. John of the Cross coined the phrase in the 1500’s, and it describes a period of darkness within the faith… not from outside, not from unbelief, but from within the faith.

We all face this at one time or another, on varying scales. In my own period of doubt and hurt, I struggled to see the light that Christ brings us. The light was still there, but my vision was blocked. A friend of mine likes to say that when we feel set apart from God, we need to check our compass and make sure that we are not so enmeshed in the horizontal (this world) that we are missing the vertical (God in His Heaven).

We are human. We will have these “dark nights.” But even in our darkest hour, our Holy Father is there. Even when we feel empty and alone, the Holy Spirit is in us. When we become so mired in the sins of the world that we feel there is no way out, Christ is sitting by the Father, interceding on our behalf.

The final words of the Great Commission, from Matthew 28:16-20, says it all, and are the words where we find our comfort in these times:

And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Matthew 28:20b

We hear an awful lot about forgiveness, don’t we? We are well-versed in turning the other cheek, the parable that Christ told to demonstrate forgiving our brothers.

But I tell you not to resist an evildoer. On the contrary, whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well. Matthew 5:39

But there is another side to the business of forgiveness… the art of asking for forgiveness.

Recently I became aware of a situation where someone repeated something that wasn’t true, without checking it out first, despite the fact that there was a professional relationship between those concerned. It was put in writing and passed around. Serious damage was done to many people, and reputations were on the line. When the gossiper (and that is what he was) found out that his unchecked facts were wrong, he basically said, “Oops” and let it end there. He has not apologized to the many people that he wronged. It would be an act of contrition, one that is desperately needed. There are hurt feelings, damaged hearts, wounded relationships. When repeatedly approached about his need to go to those he wronged, he has claimed that he has already “moved on.” But those he hurt are left wondering “why?”

Admitting that you have done something wrong is hard. Admitting it to the person that you have wronged is even harder. Asking their forgiveness is darn near impossible! After all, it involves humbling yourself to someone. Humbling ourselves to God is easy, expected, understood. Doing it before a fellow servant of God is much, much harder. And yet, we are called to do just that. If we don’t we are out of favor with God, outside the parameters of His teachings.

We are vain individuals. We don’t like to embarrass ourselves, or look weak. And somehow in our world, admitting that you are wrong has become a symbol of weakness.

A few weeks ago I wrote about confronting someone Biblically, according to Matthew 18 (Life as a Christian Woman, May 30). Earlier in Matthew, we are told that that if we are in a quarrel with someone, if our brother or sister has something against us, we must go to them immediately and seek reconciliation.

There is no easy way to understand evil. Even our guidebook for life, the Bible, can’t begin to explain the evils that we can do to each other, that Satan inflicts on this world.

Sunday there was a shooting at a church. The sanctuary at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., was packed with more than 200 folks, there to see a children’s production of the musical “Annie.” Two people were killed: 60-year-old Greg McKendry, and 61-year-old Linda Kraeger. Seven others were injured.

The day began innocently. The production was taking the place of the normal service, and was the “grand finale” to a summer workshop at the church. At 10:18, 58-year-old Jim David Adkisson of nearby Powell entered the sanctuary and began firing his 12-gauge shotgun. Eyewitness accounts say that he apparently didn’t attempt to shoot the children, as he walked past a staging area where kids were gathered, but took aim at adults in the pews.

Accounts say that McKendry stood in front of the shooter and took a bullet, attempting to protect others. His 16-year old foster son, Taylor Bessette, who was a member of the cast, said he wants to make sure that everyone knows that his stepdad died a hero. (watch teen describe foster dad as hero)

Members sprung into action and tackled the shooter, binding him with belts. Witnesses say that children were within just a couple of feet of the killer.

My first thoughts jump straight to the children. How will they get through this? I can’t imagine the horror they feel, the things they witnessed in a place that is supposed to be safe. One small girl is described as being “covered in blood.” How does a parent explain what happened in a way to make the child feel safe again?

And I think about the rest of us. This is an ugly illustration of how we are not safe from evil anywhere. Evil will seek us out, Satan wants to do us harm, and will use any agent to push through an agenda, his agenda, of sowing the world with fear, hatred and doubt. I’m sure at this moment Satan is relishing the people who are saying, “How could any God let this happen?” He is laughing at us, as he marches on in his battle against God.

But here is the truth. He will not win. Our God is an awesome God! Through this sadness, this evil, He is there. He preceded this event, and He will be there when the cameras leave. He will give the parents the right words, if only they will ask. He will be a comfort to the children.

We must hang on! We must cling to God, no matter what.

I don’t know much about Unitarian Universalism. The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church describes itself as promoting freedom of expression, tolerance, reason, the search for truth and the dignity of each human being. According to the church’s website,

“TVUUC has a long and rich history of taking stands for social justice. Since the 1950s, our congregation has worked for desegregation, racial harmony, fair wages, women’s rights and gay rights.”

Don’t try to make sense of the attack… there is no sense to be made. It was a violent attack against a congregation that promotes peace and equality.

At this point, there is no known connection between the church and Adkisson. The Church is not close to his home, just over 12 miles away. There are many churches between Adkisson’s home and the church. What made him choose this one?

Adkisson is being held on a $1 million bond.

All that we can do at this point is pray… pray for the families of those who were killed. Pray for those who are injured. Pray for the children who witnessed this horrible tragedy.

And pray for Jim David Adkisson. This agent of evil is a child of God. Pray for healing of his soul, of whatever hurt drove him to commit this heinous crime. He is a child of God. He deserves our prayers.

When my husband and I were first dating, I was telling him a story about the time some friends of mine gave me a gift certificate to bungee jump. Before I could get to the part about how I chickened out, his eyes got big and he said, “You bungee jumped? That is so cool!” Suddenly, it seemed easier to let this guy that I liked be impressed by something that I had never done than tell him the truth. No harm in it, right?

A few weeks later I was telling him about the summer I had the opportunity to go to the Soviet Union. Once again, before I finished the story that my dad wouldn’t let me go, he was so impressed I decided to let him think I had gone. What could it hurt?

Jump ahead a few years. We are married now. We are on a ski trip, my first time to try it. We take the lift to the top of the Bunny Hill (which looked like Mt. Everest to me). I sit down at the top, take off my skis, and beg hubby to let me walk down the mountain. I’m terrified! He is amazed, and says, “I can’t believe you are afraid, after all, you’ve bungee jumped!”

Through my tears, I say “I’ve never bungee jumped… and I’ve never been to Russia, either!

Several important lessons were learned that day… first, my husband learned to wait until I am completely done with a story before jumping to conclusions. And I learned that sooner or later a lie will catch up with you… And I also learned that my husband can be very forgiving!

Honesty breeds trust. When a lie is exposed, there is a separation that occurs, a wall of mistrust that is built. If one spouse can’t trust the other, or if a child can’t trust a parent, the family will break down. When leaders lie to their people, society breaks down. Honesty should be the cornerstone on which our lives are built.

One of the harder truths to understand is that it is better to be honest and be rejected than to lie and find acceptance. We should be honest and straightforward with those around us. As Christians, we must live as far above reproach as possible. Half-truths and omissions accomplish nothing in the end, except to separate us from God and damage our witness to others.

Additionally, trying to live a lie that you have built is impossible. You must constantly guard against the truth slipping out, and to keep one lie up you inevitably have to tell a few more. It is a vicious circle that eventually collapses like a house of cards.

My husband and I laugh about the “Bungee jumping in Russia” story now. But what if this lie had somehow put doubt into his heart about my honesty? It could have destroyed our marriage, crushed our family.

Honesty isn’t just the best policy, it’s the only policy that a Christian can afford.

How many times have we, as Christians, heard the argument, “You think you’re better than I am because you’re a Christian!” Or how about, “Christians are such hypocrites, they think they are better than the rest of the world.

Hogwash, we say, then respond with a bumper sticker saying: Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.

But we tend to lump non-believers into a category of evil that may or may not apply. We demonize those who haven’t accepted Christ. Heck, sometimes we even demonize those who have accepted Christ but belong to another denomination. “They need us to save them from their evilness!” we proclaim.

We act as if we are doing them a favor by telling them of our Lord and Savior!

But a book by Timothy Keller, entitled “The Reason for God: Faith in an Age of Skepticism” makes some wonderfully valid points that all Christians should keep in mind.

God’s grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior.
Christians, then, should expect to find nonbelievers who are much nicer, kinder, wiser, and better than they are. Why? Christian believers are not accepted by God because of their moral performance, wisdom, or virtue, but because of Christ’s work on their behalf
Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Faith in an Age of Skepticism, Dutton Press 2008

Don’t get me wrong here. Good deeds are a very important part of the Christian walk. We are called to service, following in the footsteps of Jesus. We are servants to Him and to His people. But we don’t hold the monopoly on “goodness.”

Be assured… we must do our best to present the Living Gospel to a fallen world. We must look to lead others to Christ, to witness when and where we are called.

But go in grace and peace. We are doing battle with Satan, but not with those whom we wish to save from his grasp. We are every bit as good/evil, nice/mean, loud/soft, as those we want to lead to the Lord.

Enter into the lives of those who need to learn of Jesus with prayer, humbleness and humility… just as the Savior entered our lives in this world.

I’m frustrated… very, very frustrated. Someone is trying to set me apart, make me question my faith and my road to God. I feel under fire, angry, defensive, and frustrated.

I have never understood why Christians feel the need to belittle other Christians. This “my theology is better than your theology” attitude gets none of us anywhere. It hurts us to fight against each other, and yet we do it so well!

I have a friend who seems to enjoy making others doubt their own beliefs, even though this person is an active Christian. If one disagrees, or questions, then somehow the questioner is wrong, or worse - dumb for not knowing in the first place.

This person is beginning to have a negative effect on me. Times that I am supposed to be in worship, now I’m angry and my mind is nowhere near where it needs to be to spend time with God. I’ve prayed for peace, for understanding, and yet I get angrier and more upset each time I am involved with this person.

So what do I do?

We are commanded as Christians to live in unity, to present a fellowship of Christian love to others. In Phillippians 2:1-2, Paul says “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart.”

Hard words to live up to! But in the midst of our frustration, we must first and foremost remain obedient to God. When faced with those that bring out the worst in us, we should look for ways to act against it, and trust God to lead us in our efforts.

We should also avoid making big decisions in the midst of our frustration. Wrong assumptions can lead to wrong conclusions. Take time to sit back, calm down and review the situation. Is it as bad as you think? Or are you being overly sensitive? See if some greater good could come from the situation, don’t assume the worst.

Make sure that you are not the source of frustration in others. I have to look inward to see if I am egging this whole thing on, what is my part in this situation. Seldom is anything all one person’s fault. Often, if we look deep within ourselves, we will see that we are complicit in the problem.

Finally, if the situation is untenable, then remove yourself from it. Don’t destroy the group that is in place just to satisfy your own means to an end. Perhaps the greater good is that God is making you unhappy where you are so he can plant you elsewhere, where your gifts and talents are needed.

I don’t know yet what I am going to do. I need to pray, reflect, and ask God for His direction, for His discernment. It is a hard lesson, and we all must open our hearts to hear from God in these times. But His words, and His words only, will lead us where we need to be to follow Him.

Isolation.

The word conjures up some ugly pictures. Prisoners put in isolation because of bad behavior. The ill put in isolation wards because of their illness and the risk to others.

No, isolation is not a happy word. We were born to be around people, to be a community. To be separated from that community can be painful and lead to depression and anxiety.

But isolation from God? Nothing could be more painful, more gut-wrenching, than to feel that you are not connected to the Lord. But it is at these times that we can reach out to God and realize that we can’t be isolated from Him if we seek Him. He never leaves us, we isolate ourselves from Him!

From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help.
Psalm 130:1

The psalmist cried out to God at his lowest point, and God answered. When we feel lonely, sad, hopeless, He is there to befriend us, cheer us, and give us life.

But what about isolation from God that occurs due to sin? We feel ashamed to enter His presence, but this is when He has His arms open to receive us. He does not abandon us! Our sin may cut us off from God, but He stands ready to forgive us when we repent of our sins. To restore our relationship with God we must simply confess our sin to Him, obey Him, and remain in fellowship with Him.

Finally, we must all do our best to avoid spiritual isolation. We are a community of faith, bound by one God and one Savior. We must seek each other out by whatever means necessary, to join in fellowship of spirit. We cannot isolate ourselves from others of faith! That defeats the purpose of God’s community.

For me, the internet is a wonderful thing. I can fellowship with other Christians right here in front of my computer. For some Christians, that may be the only way that they can fellowship. Some of us have the ability to go to church weekly and fellowship, to meet in small groups. Others can’t, whether due to health or other reasons. But God will provide a means if we will only listen to Him, obey Him. He will plant other Christians in our path, whether they are next door or a continent away.

God doesn’t want us to be isolated from Him or other Christians. Reach out. He is there.

All of us have had the empty feeling of loneliness. Even in a crowd, you can feel lonely. And loneliness can bring on sadness and depression, a feeling of hopelessness.

But we aren’t hopeless, and God shows us what to do in those times of isolation. The truth is, as easily as we become isolated and alone, we can reach out to others and begin to come out again.

Let’s look at loneliness through the perspective of the Bible.

First, when you begin feeling alone, separate and apart, reach out to other Christians. Jesus used the parable of the mustard seed to show that Christianity would grow from a small, insignificant number to a worldwide kingdom.

Jesus asked, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed. Though this is one of the smallest of seeds, it grows to become one of the largest of plants, with long branches where birds can come and find shelter.”

Mark 4:30-32

Reach out to His kingdom on earth, your brothers and sisters in Christ, and let them come to you and lift you up in prayer.

Second, if we aren’t careful, loneliness can morph into self-pity. Self-pity works against any good you may be doing. While we all have those times of “why,” in its extreme self-pity is self-indulgent and nothing good can come of it. Instead of “poor me,” pray for an attitude adjustment.

Third, remember that God is with us, so we can never really be alone. Feeling lonely? Talk to God. Speak out loud, just as if He is in the room with you… because He is! We are filled with God’s Holy Spirit and love. Who can truly be lonely under those circumstances!

Finally, one of the best things you can do when you are lonely is serve others who are lonely, forgotten. Visit an elderly church member, have a prayer time with a shut-in, volunteer to visit members of your church or parish who are hospitalized. Seeing the joy that your visit brings is enough to lighten your soul.

We are an egotistical, self-satisfied society. Most people would rather cut off their arms than reach out to others. But as Christians, we are called to reach out to others… to both serve and be served in return.

So let those around you know that you need them. It is a sign of strength and resilience to be able to let others in when you need them, not a sign of weakness.

And never forget the Great Commission:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

(Matthew 28:18-20)

Have you ever been trying to download something on your computer, and that silly little ball just keeps spinning and spinning while you wait for your page to come up?

That’s been happening a lot at this site the past few days. For whatever reason, the parent site has been experiencing trouble, which meant most of you couldn’t download the page, and I couldn’t post new columns.

But as I sat there waiting each time I tried to log in, I got to thinking. You see, waiting is old hat to a Christian. Our faith is based on waiting.

When we pray, we wait for a response. It may take as little as a few minutes, or it may take years for God to respond. After all it is in His time, not ours, and sometimes the answer may be “Yes” and sometimes “No.” And sometimes the answer is, “Not yet.” We ask, and then wait.

We wait to see where He will lead us in our path of life. Will we marry and have a family? Will we serve in the mission field? We watch, and we wait.

And we wait for the glorious day when Jesus returns. The day He takes us all to live eternally with the Father. We anticipate, and we wait.

Christian waiting serves so many purposes. It prepares us to have our real needs met. Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry.”

When we cry out to the Lord, whether in sorrow or pain, He hears us. He allows us the pain. It will cause us to grow, to lean on Him more heavily, to depend on Him to fill us so that He can lead us where He needs us, not where we want to be.

God doesn’t just have a vision for our lives, He knows our lives. He will use all the adversity to our benefit and to His glory.

But we want our solutions now. We want the pain to end now. We don’t have the vision. It is hard for us to think beyond the moment, much less far into the future. But God calls for us to be patient, to trust Him. He longs for us to turn our pain and hurt over to Him in prayer, to trust Him with it. He yearns for us to allow Him to comfort us.

In our rush to fix it, in our impatience, we fail to see His big picture, to see the glory that may come out of a sad, horrible, heartbreaking situation.

But it will only be in God’s time, so be patient. Be willing to wait, to see where He will lead. God will never, never fail you.

All He asks is that you wait for Him.