Psalm 46:7 – The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
We were watching a movie with our kids the other day. It was a movie where the girl left the guy with the kid. The marriage had fallen apart and they were totally broke. So she left. Our kids looked at Ruth and I and said, “You won’t do that!” They were absolutely confident of that. But there is perhaps a part of them that sees their friends in single parent homes and wonders, “Will this happen to me too? Will mom or dad have to move out? Will mom and dad get a divorce?” They’re afraid that they’ll get abandoned.
Think back to those moments as a kid when you were most afraid. Perhaps you had been wandering in Sears and suddenly you looked up and around and couldn’t see mom or dad. “Did they leave? I’m all alone.” In the past our older kids would walk to the corner and we would pick them up there. Every once in a while I would be a few minutes late and I would get a frantic phone call, “Dad, are you coming!?!” Deep down we all have this fear of being left alone, of being abandoned.
And it doesn’t change as we age. I’ve spent enough time visiting people in the hospital, in the nursing home, in jails, in their homes to know that people hate being alone. You can tell in the conversation. They’re just glad to have someone to talk to. They’re just glad to know someone is there. They’re just glad to have someone in their room who cares about them and wants to spend time with them. For the next hour or two, or as long as you can give them, they are glad for your presence and your company.
But you don’t have to be in a hospital or nursing home to feel all alone. When we go through a hardship or trouble in our lives we often feel like we’re going through it all alone. It feels like there is no one who understands, like there is no one who cares. Sometimes there are even people right there with you, but you feel as if you’re going through this all by yourself. When trouble comes – no matter what that trouble is – we can feel at that time more than any other that we are all by ourselves. We just hate to be alone.
But do you see who and what God is? He is immovable. He is always present, right there for you, with you. God doesn’t move. He is always present with you in whatever you are going through. Look: God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. – Psalm 46:5-7
One of the places where this is very clear is in Daniel 3. Crack open your Bible and read Daniel 3. Even in their greatest danger, even when they were thrown into a fiery furnace God was right there with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He was right there, immovable, present with them. Read it! It’s an awesome account. And let it assure you, that no matter what trouble or hardship you are going through, God is with you. God is… unshakable… immoveable. Wherever you are and whenever you need him, God is right there! (By the way, we’re starting a sermon series on Daniel at the end of October. Stay tuned!)
PRAYER:
Lord God, I thank you that you are with me. I sometimes feel very much alone, isolated and abandoned even though there are people all around me. But God, you promise that you are always right there by my side. You promise that even if everyone else leaves, you will not forsake me. You promise that even if I am abandoned by all people, you will never abandon me in the dark and difficult moments of my life. And even if it seems like you have left me, your Word assures me that you haven’t and you won’t abandon me. Help me to stand on this, your word of promise. You will not leave me now or ever. Amen.
Pastor Nate Bourman