You are not alone

You are not alone.

Just back from a short walk along the familiar paths near my home. I didn’t meet anyone. The road was empty, even of cars. The first part of the pathway, though, was lined with neon-golden gorse and broom, branches drooping towards me.

I thought of children’s races and matches which I’ve attended over the years, where I would be standing on the sidelines shouting encouragement to my kids. Sometimes my exuberance may have been very un-Scottish but at least my kids knew I was supporting them. Maybe my words exploded like golden neon into the air.

You are not alone. Walking along that part of the path, with the neon blossom on either side, I felt encouraged, supported. Not alone.

There’s a movie out now called Into the Woods, which is a sort of weird compilation of fairy tales with the same menacing undertones and threats. The denouement includes a chorus the few survivors sing to each other, the main words of which are ‘You are not alone!’ Given the run-ins they’ve all just had with giants and witches and wolves, I’m not sure I would have found such a mantra very encouraging. 

What I heard, though, was a desperate yearning to know that in this big bad universe, we are not alone. Someone must be on our side. This movie’s conclusion suggested we aren’t alone because we are there for each other – as one by one our numbers diminish, those who are left will stand by us.

Not much consolation or hope, if you ask me. I’d prefer to rely on the promises Jesus made to his followers: I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. The writer to the Hebrews also reminded his readers that they are surrounded by a crowd of witnesses who are cheering them on. 

We aren’t alone. That’s true. And the one who is with us, Jesus, is powerful. He is mighty to save. He loves us so much he died for us. He loves us with an everlasting love. He forgives and he sends his Holy Spirit to live in us and remind us who we are, and who Jesus is. 

Jesus is always with us, through the good times and the bad. And we are surrounded by others who love and pray for us, prayers which are efficacious. 

Whatever is facing you today, remember that in the best of ways, you are not alone.

Promised Land

We have a colloquial phrase about ‘going into the Promised Land’. I suppose we think of such a place akin to heaven itself, a place of perfection and peace. 

The Israelites certainly thought of the Promised Land as a place blessed by God in which they could live in peace and prosper. They had a few problems going into it, associated mostly with their lack of faith in God to deliver.

I read the other day that whatever we focus our eyes on grows bigger in our sight. As we focus on our fears, they inflate until they totally overwhelm us. Many are the stories of agonising childbirth experiences which are told to expectant mothers, drawing them to consider elective C sections rather than endure the horrors recounted to them. Others like to inflate the difficulties associated with a probationary teaching year until those embarking on this second part of their teacher training feel overwhelmed and totally intimidated. Just two examples of ways in which what we focus on turns into a giant which can paralyse us in anxiety and initiate self-doubt and fear.

We need to train our eyes to focus on God and to stay there, not to wander. I don’t imagine that David’s gaze shifted from the target of Goliath’s forehead as he slung his rock. But his inner eye would have been totally trained on God, who he knew was mighty to save and to deliver. 

Giants prevent us from entering all that God has for us. We are easily stalled by fears imagined by us or fed us by others. I know that God has a promised land he dreams that each of us will step in to. 

Today I want to extend the borders by focusing on God and trusting him for what he has promised.

Years ago, he promised that he would find the publisher for one of the books I have written. I am waiting for the fulfilment of that promise, but I am aware that over the years I’ve not so much shifted my gaze on to giants as let my eyelids droop and fall asleep. In other words, I’ve kind of given up on the fulfilment of that promise. But today, publicly and deliberately, I am going to refocus my gaze on God to deliver on this promise, and move forward into a new writing project.

I am going into a new neighbourhood of my promised land, trusting in God all the way. How about you?