28 Jul They Were Not Alone

They Were Not Alone

Samaritan’s Heart Mission Church kicked off 2024 (which now seems a lifetime ago) with the theme “you are not alone.” I recently read a devotional by author Paul Tripp that I believe speaks to that theme and serves as a good mid-year reminder of it. Tripp wrote: “God will call you to do what you cannot do but will provide you everything you need to do it.” He then gave a list of examples, Noah, Joseph, Moses, and others all accomplished what they did through God’s grace, not their own ability. That got me to thinking. They were all ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Yet, it was God who is the “extra” to their “ordinary” that accomplished extraordinary things. They were not alone.  I think of the extraordinary things God has done in my life that I couldn’t do in the ordinary, before I knew Him:

• I couldn’t conquer food addiction and I still can’t. But God did—I am not alone.
• I couldn’t conquer my fear of rejection and I still can’t. But God did-I am not alone.
• I couldn’t conquer my anger and I still can’t. But God did—I am not alone.
• I couldn’t conquer my dishonesty and I still can’t. But God did—I am not alone.
• I couldn’t generate my own faith in God, but God did (yes, He did that too!)—I am not alone.

The heroes of the Bible were not alone. They believed in God’s faithfulness, and He provided what they need:

12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Yes, God conquered these things in my life. Still, it is important for us to remember the verses above. God healed me, but I’m perfectly capable of stumbling. When I do, I need only remember what my source of strength is, the “extra” that makes my “ordinary” extraordinary. We are never alone!

Pastor Jerry Bader