To be left alone

Jesus said,

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18

How would Jesus come to these original disciples? In the Person of the Holy Spirit.

"If you love Me [Jesus], you will keep My commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate John 14:26 to be with you forever—

the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.

But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you." John 14:15-17

Jesus said,

"And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20

To be assured that the Savior and Creator John 1:1-3, 9-13; 3:16-17; 4:41-42; Colossians 1:15-17; 1 John 4:14 will NOT abandon us can be what we may need, especially in bad times.

Sometimes we face difficulties when circumstances haven't YET changed for the better. Matthew 8:5-6; Mark 5:25-26; Luke 13:11; John 5:5; Acts 9:33; Romans 12:12; 2 Corinthians 8:1-2; Galatians 4:13-14; 1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Timothy 4:20; Hebrews 10:36; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; Revelation 2:10

Let's remember what Jesus said,

"I am with you always." Matthew 28:20

Paul believed this and wrote about it.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

As it is written: "For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. Romans 8:35-37

For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. 2 Corinthians 4:17

For some of us, daily, repetitious duties can create feelings of, "What's the point?"

Let's remember the Scripture --

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said:

"Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

And here's another good one for those who fight boredom: He will fight it WITH YOU --

I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

ALONE BUT NOT ALONE

Jesus said,

"Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone.

Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me." John 16:32

Jesus often withdrew to isolated places by Himself. Matthew 14:13, 23; Luke 5:16; John 6:15

Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray. Mark 1:35

He prayed all night to God the Father before He chose His twelve original disciples. Luke 6:12-13

ALONE FOR HIS EYES ONLY

Jesus taught,

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.

Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, Who is unseen.

And your Father, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:5-6

Are there times when believers chose or were led spiritually to be alone, that is, not with other people?

Here are a few --

Moses was alone with the Father to receive the Ten Commandments. Exodus 34:1-3, 28-29; Deuteronomy 9:10-11, 18

Joshua stayed behind, alone with the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. Exodus 33:7-11

John the Baptist was in the wilderness by himself before his public showing to Israel. Luke 1:80

The Lord Jesus Christ was led by the Holy Spirit alone into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days and nights. Matthew 4:1-2

Paul decided to walk by himself as part of a missionary journey Acts 20:13 after a miracle of raising a boy from the dead. Acts 20:7-12

Why? Perhaps he wanted to be alone with the Lord to give Him the glory Psalm 115:1 in personal ways that others shouldn't see nor hear.

Have you ever done that?

SPIRITUAL VALUE of BEING LEFT ALONE

When no other human is watching or listening, we can find out who we really are. Romans 5:8; 7:14-25; Ephesians 3:8; 1 Timothy 1:15

Isolation can bring intimacy with the Savior IF we don't allow distractions of the modern world to choke His word in us. Mark 4:18-19; Luke 8:14

Allows the Father to love each person individually, One on one, John 14:21-23 as they draw near to Him. James 4:8

Might help us to worship and praise in the Spirit. Psalm 150:6; John 4:23-24; Philippians 3:3

Without being alone, some may feel shy to express themselves in ways 2 Samuel 6:14-15; Acts 13:22 that others might not understand or dislike. 2 Samuel 6:16, 20-22

Assists us to learn to value ourselves because He values us. Matthew 10:29-31; 12:11-12; John 3:16-17

May motivate us to get real about any sins or fleshly tendencies when we only have Him to talk with and confess to. Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9

Wouldn't these be good reasons "to be left alone" with Him?

Your thoughts?

R. Jason