Sometimes Abandoned, but Never Alone

      By Fern Horst

"At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (II Timothy 4:16-18)

The Apostle Paul closed his letter to Timothy with the above testimony of God's faithfulness to him. When Paul had to appear in court in Rome, none of his friends showed up as witnesses on his behalf. After his conversion, Paul devoted his life to serving others and to spreading the gospel. But when he needed assistance himself, no one was there for him.

Sound familiar? I imagine we've all experienced similar situations. After giving of ourselves sacrificially for others, we sometimes find ourselves alone when we face our own crises. I wonder what Paul felt emotionally when he realized that none of his friends had shown up on his behalf? If he's like most humans, I imagine he experienced feelings of abandonment and sadness.

But there was something else he experienced. He also felt the Lord's presence with him, strengthening him as he answered his accusers. Not only that, the Lord gave him the opportunity to preach the gospel message to the Gentiles - a task that God had laid on his heart as part of his life's mission.

Paul came through the situation with his faith strengthened - not in people and their ability to encourage him, but in God and His ability to give him the grace he needed during a difficult situation.

We could look at a passage like this and conclude that we really don't need people because God will always be there even when people aren't. But that conclusion would not be consistent with the rest of Scripture. God created people to be a help and encouragement to each other, to help carry each other's burdens, and it's important that we fulfill that role in the lives of those people God's leads us to assist and encourage.

What Paul's testimony does tell us, though, is that we can't consistently rely on humans to be there for us in every situation. But that doesn't mean that we're alone in those cases. God is always with us. We can count on Him to never leave us nor forsake us. Not only that, He is able to bring good out of a situation that at first appears to be one in which everyone has forgotten us. Others may have forgotten, but God never does. He is with us, orchestrating every event as we commit ourselves and our situations to Him.

© 2006 Fern Horst

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