Among the many trials Job faced during his time of temptation by Satan was loneliness. All of Job’s ten adult children had died. In great sorrow Job mourned for them. After Job became sick, he also lost the support of his friends and his position of leadership in the community. Thought this was hard, perhaps the loss of fellowship Job felt most keenly was the loss of closeness to his wife. In the beginning of his illness, she did not encourage him and try to lift him up so that he would have strength to go on with the Lord and not give up. Rather, she urged him to curse God and die. Instead of being able to lean on his wife for support and strength, Job had to rebuke her and then turn to face his struggles without the help of the one he loved best. There is no record that Job’s wife continued to discourage him with her words. However, the oneness that he had enjoyed with her for so many years was gone. Job said, “My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children’s sake of mine own body.” (Job 19:17) They had lost their children together, and now Job wanted to mourn together. How he longed for her gentle caresses and comforting words! His heart yearned for her closeness, but she was not there for him. Humanly speaking, Job was all alone. There was not one person he could turn to that would support him, pray with him, or encourage him. Not only was he left without support or help, but he was also rejected. His family forsook him, his friends criticized and accused him, his servants ignored him, society scorned him, and his wife did not relate properly to him. In spite of all this, Job had one hope. He knew that one day, in his flesh, he would see God. Job could not see God during all of his dark trial, but he knew that God was alive, and that he would surely see him one day. This hope is expressed in Job 19:25-27, “25For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” Are you struggling with loneliness today? Does the way seem long and dark so that you cannot see God in your trials? Perhaps you cannot see Him now, but He is alive. If you know Jesus as your Saviour, you will see God one day. You will stand before him in your resurrected body, and your eyes will behold Him. Oh, the day when you will see your Heavenly Father face to face! (See Revelation 22:3,4) Never give up hope. God is surely alive, and you will see Him soon! Jesus Is With Me, I Know Jesus is with me, I know, Whatever may come to pass; Though I live one hundred years, Or e'en if this day be my last. Jesus is with me, I know, Through trials and troubles here; Through valleys of darkness and death, Or pathways of sunshine and cheer. Jesus is with me, I know, I thank Him for staying close; With Him as my Shepherd in life, I've nothing whatever to lose. by. C Young " He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5b) “I’ll never be lonely again, never again, For I’ve opened my heart’s door to Him.” As a child, I loved to listen to this song by Audrey Meier. It is a beautiful song and emphasizes comforting promises of God such as, “He will do the same for you, as He did for me. He’ll never leave you, never forsake you. Trust Him and see.” Listening to this song helped to ease my worries and calm my heart. Thinking on God’s promise that He would never leave me nor forsake me, caused me to feel rested and happy inside. It is so very true that, if we have trusted Jesus as our Savior, we are never really alone. Jesus is with us always, for He is the Friend that sticks closer than a brother. However, it is the natural longing of the heart to have the companionship of another human being. This is not strange. God designed us to have this desire. Ecclesiastes 4:9,10 says, “9Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” Nevertheless, there are often times when we find ourselves with no human friend or loved one, and we feel very lonely. There were two times when Jesus felt very alone -- once was while He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and again while He was dying on the cross. In the Garden On the night before His crucifixion, just before His arrest, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He took with Him Peter and James and John because He wanted them to pray for Him while He talked with His Father. He gave them a charge to watch and pray so that they would not enter into temptation. Then He went a little farther on to pray by Himself. “And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:41-44) Jesus was in turmoil of spirit. He knew that the terrible cross awaited Him. He dreaded the defilement He would feel when He took upon Him the sins of every person in the whole world. He wished He could stop the time from coming when He would be separated from His Father. How He yearned for those last hours of fellowship before He had to endure the cross! Imagine His heartbreak when He came back and found that the disciples had not been praying for Him at all. He had left them with the charge to pray, and they were sleeping. “What,” He said to Peter, “could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:38) Then He went back to pray the second time. When He returned, He found the disciples sleeping again. In His hour of greatest heaviness, Jesus was deserted by His earthly friends. Not one person stood with Him or prayed for Him. But God had not left Him alone. God sent angels to strengthen Him. When we are in our greatest hours of trial, we also are not alone. We may yearn for the fellowship of another human – a friend, our husband, our Dad and Mom. Our hearts may break if we hear no word from home that someone is praying for us or if we cannot contact our loved ones. But God cares for us, and He has not deserted us. He sent angels to minister to Jesus, but we have the presence of God Himself with us. Isaiah 41:13 comforts our hearts with these words, “I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” On the Cross The darkest hour of Jesus’ life was during His time on the cross. All the disciples had forsaken Him. Only a few women followed Him to the hill where He was to be crucified. There His hands and feet were nailed to the cross. Next to Him on either side was a cross with a thief. All around Him were people that mocked. He was in great pain. Yet, His greatest pain was to come about the sixth hour of the day. Jesus was bearing in His own body our sins and the sins of every person in the whole world; and darkness covered the whole earth for three hours while God the Father turned His back upon His Son because God could not look upon that sin. In heart wrenching agony of spirit, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Jesus faced a loneliness that we will never face. God the Father forsook His Son. For three hours, God turned His face away from Jesus. Jesus was stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) Jesus suffered rejection by His Father so that we would be accepted. Jesus bore the punishment for our sins so that we would not have to bear it. Jesus was forsaken of His Father so that we might receive the promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5) We must not think it strange if we go through times of loneliness. Jesus did. We must not think it is wrong to feel sorrow and to long for fellowship during hours of loneliness. Jesus felt these things. But we must always remember that we have a Companion who understands our loneliness. This Companion is Jesus, our Forever Friend. We may experience loneliness, but we will never be alone. Jesus is always there. Faith in God I hope for that which I cannot see, Yet the evidence says it surely must be, On the promises of God I can rely For the Scripture says that God cannot lie. I’ve fled for refuge and laid hold upon God; Confidence is mine as through this life I trod. The hope that is set before me is sure, With Christ as my Savior my future’s secure. by. C. Young “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” (Isaiah 40:1) We are excited today to be able to launch this encouragement website. We hope that you find it a place of comfort, for that is the purpose of it. As you visit and read our posts, we pray that you will find the meditations from Scripture to be a source of help if you are tired, weary, or struggling. In the past couple of years, we have experienced trials, struggles, sicknesses, and disappointments. It has been easy to get discouraged, and there have been times of weeping. But it is our desire that the tears that have fallen upon our path through these valleys of life will become wells from which others may draw refreshing water for their thirsty souls. The story of these wells of fresh water comes from Psalm 84. Wells of Strength
Psalm 84 was written by one whose heart was heavy and who longed for the comfort of the living God. Here are some encouraging thoughts from this Psalm. The Condition of My Heart - Verses 1 - 3 “How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! 2My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 3Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.” My soul longeth My soul fainteth My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Then I remember that God cares, even for the sparrows. He allows them to nest in His house. Would He not allow me to find refuge and shelter in Him as well? Praise in the Midst of Depression - Verses 4 – 6 “4Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. 5Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. 6Who passing through the valley of Baca [weeping] make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.” I praise, in spite of my depression. God is my strength when His ways are in my heart. I pass through the valley of weeping. My tears pour down like rain. But my tears can make a well and fill the pools so that those who follow after me in the same path might find refreshment when their heart and their flesh cry out for the living God. Wells of Strength - Verse 7 “They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.” Perhaps I must make many such wells so that weary travelers after me will have strength for their journey. They will be able to make it from one refreshing well to the other – to go from strength to strength. Consider the picture above. It seems that the artist imagined two women traveling through the desert. In the middle of the desert they found a well that someone had dug. There they were able to fill their water pots. A cool, refreshing drink from this well would give them strength to walk further. However, the water pots will eventually become empty. Therefore, it would be important that there would be another well. At the other well, the ladies can fill their water pots again and refresh their weary bodies and gain strength to go on to the next one. If wells are dug at intervals along the path, these ladies can find strength to complete their whole journey. It is the same in life. Some parts of life’s journey are like traveling through the desert. The traveler becomes weary and tired, and her soul is thirsty for the living God. If the traveler is very weary, she may not be able to dig and search for water. She is delighted to discover that those who had gone before her on the same journey prepared wells along the way. As she goes from well to well, she is able to find strength to endure to the end. My Prayer and My Heart Cry - Verses 8 and 9 “8O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. 9Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.” I cry out to God to answer me in my sorrow, in my heaviness. “You chose me to work for You – O God, look upon me!” A Better Dwelling Place - Verse 10 “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” I do not want to stray from You and dwell among the wicked, no matter how prosperous they may seem to be. A day spent with God is better than a thousand spent with the wicked of this world. The LORD God – My Sun and My Shield; My Grace and My Glory - Verse 11 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” The LORD God is a sun – a Light to show me the way The LORD God is a shield – my Protection The LORD will give grace The LORD will give glory He will not withhold from me any good thing if I walk in His ways. He is mighty. He is the LORD of hosts. I can trust in Him. That is the source of true joy in my life. “O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.” (verse 12) |
About the Author
Hello! My name is Connie, and I live in North Carolina. The Lord has blessed me with wonderful parents, a wonderful sister, and a great church family . The past few years have been difficult in many ways, but God has been with me all the way. Much praise goes to the Lord for His guidance and wisdom in starting this website. I would also like to express my thanks to Valerie who has joyfully and willingly given of her time to help design this website and do much of the technical work. She and her family are faithful servants to the Lord. They also have gone through many trials in the past few years, but they have allowed God to use these trials to make them sweeter and more like His Son Jesus Christ. Rights:
All articles, images, and materials on www.myrefuge.weebly.com are copyright 2021 The Hiding Place and are the exclusive property of Connie Young (unless otherwise indicated). All rights reserved. Any articles, images, and materials on this site may be used for personal and/or ministry use with proper credits to the rightful owner. They may not be used in any other manner without prior written permission of Connie Young.
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