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What Must I Do To Be Saved?

  

FROM: 1/12/03 Radio Program

Question:

What does the Bible say about someone that is all alone?

Answer:

Feelings of loneliness are very real, and it is a sad situation when one feels as if he/she is "all alone." Yet, the Bible tells us that if one is in Christ, he/she is never alone! Once one humbly and lovingly obeys the Lord's plan for salvation, they can enjoy blessings in Christ. One of these is the promise that God will not leave us alone. Hebrews 13:5-6 state: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." Though sometimes men may feel alone, this is not true. The Lord cares for those who are His, and loves all men. He loved all men so much that He gave His only begotten Son and allowed Him to be crucified for our sins (Jn. 3:16). This shows the true love of God for man. He is never far from any of us, Paul said (Acts 17:27).

When feelings of loneliness creep in, this is not the time to look inward, and dwell on how "bad" things are (or could be). Rather, this is the time to reach out!

Reach out:

1. To God - live according to His word, pray to Him, and make sure we are living in a way which please Him. We show our love for God through obedience to His will (Jn. 14:15; I Jn. 5:2).

2. To others - When Elijah was all alone, having fled for his life (I Kings 19), he left everyone behind, including his servant (v. 3), and ended up in Horeb (v. 8). It is there that God spoke to him (v. 13). In so doing, notice that God did not allow Elijah to "wallow" in pity. Rather, God put Elijah to work (v.15-18)! Perhaps the best "therapy" around, when we get to feeling lonely, is to try and help someone else who needs it! Let's get our mind off of our troubles, and try to help others. When we reach out to others, we help ourselves, too.

When speaking of being alone, we can find many Bible examples of those who were alone. One which comes to mind is Paul. He wrote to Timothy, and said, "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" (II Tim. 4:16-17). Here Paul wrote about being alone, yet he recognized that "the Lord stood" with him through it all! Not only this, but also notice that Paul was active while alone. He was preaching the gospel to others that they might learn the truth and be saved (Rom. 1:16; I Pet. 1:23). His strength was in God, and he reached out to others with the best thing in the world - the gospel!

When we are alone, let us remember not to turn inward, feeling sorry for ourselves and our condition, but to look for things to do and be active in the Lord's service. In so doing, we will come through this hard time the better person for it.

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