Psalm 142:1-7

Loneliness is one of the most difficult challenges for us to face.  God made us to live and function in the context of community.  We live in families, our families live in neighborhoods, we gather in groups of like-minded people for the purpose of entertainment, conversation and worship.  When we are forced by circumstances to be separated from all of those relationships we begin to feel desperate and can even border on insanity.  This was David’s reality as he was fleeing from the presence of Saul and literally on the run for his life.  When we feel that we are all alone, have been separated from our community and are surrounded by those who only want our harm; we can follow David’s example in this passage.

TELL THE LORD ABOUT OUR DIFFICULTIES: The reality of the life of every believer is that we are never alone.  No matter how far we are, geographically speaking, from our families and communities; God is always with us.  There is no place that we can go that is apart from Him.  We can always cry out to Him when there is no one else with whom we can speak.  When we are isolated from those who love us and are surrounded by those who want to harm us, God is right there with us.  When we are alone, we tend to think that nobody knows what we are going through and worse yet, that nobody cares.  That is simply not true.  God does know all about our problems and He cares very deeply for all of His children.  In our times of desperation, one of the best things, if not the only thing we can do is cry out to the Lord and tell Him about our difficulties.


TRUST THE LORD FOR OUR DELIVERANCE: When it seems like we are surrounded by impossible circumstances, God is the God of the impossible.  He is able and willing to deliver us from the most difficult of circumstances.  He truly is our refuge, source of strength and faithful protection.  When we are overwhelmed and our strength is all gone; God can be our strength.  God is faithful to deliver us according to His will.  God delights in showing Himself strong in the lives of His children that are under distress and trust in Him.  He is able to replace the fear in our hearts with thanksgiving and praises to the Lord.  He is able defeat the enemies that have surrounded us and place us once again in a loving and righteous community where we can rejoice and worship God together.  That is the reality of all who have placed their faith in Christ.  Even if we are tortured and killed, we are assured of a loving and righteous community where we will worship and praise our Lord of all of eternity.

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