Never Alone (article)

Article 19 of 35 from the Ponder This - 2002 series

May 2002 – NEVER ALONE by Ray Pritchard The woman sat in my office and unfolded a sad story. Barely holding back the tears, she spoke of how difficult it is to raise a child as a single mother. Her parents live hundreds of miles away, the baby’s father doesn’t want to help, she doesn’t have a job, her money is just about gone, and she feels completely overwhelmed. At the bottom of it all was the fear that the Lord himself had abandoned her. Was she being punished for her past mistakes? Why do her prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling? Why can’t she seem to find the Lord? After she left, I pondered her questions, seeking some insight from the Lord. At the core of it all is this: Where is Jesus when we need him most? Why is it that in moments of desperation, he seems to be so far away and we feel so much alone? The answer came as I meditated on Luke 24. On the day of his Resurrection, Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus while they were walking home from Jerusalem, discussing the death of Jesus. Verse 16 says they didn’t recognize Jesus because “God kept them from recognizing him.” That’s startling, if you think about it. They were prevented by the Father from recognizing his Son who had just risen from the dead. Why wouldn’t God want them to know it was Jesus? Doesn’t everyone need to know who he is? As they walked along, Jesus asked why they were so sad. The two men reported on the events of Good Friday and the strange rumors that Jesus had risen from the dead. At that point Jesus rebuked them (though they didn’t know it was Jesus) and said, “How foolish you are and slow to believe all that the prophets have written concerning Christ.” And right there on the road, he taught them what the Old Testament said about himself. But they still didn’t know who he was. When they got to Emmaus, he entered their home and ate supper with them. While he was breaking bread and giving thanks, their eyes were opened and they knew it was Jesus. Then suddenly he disappeared. Overwhelmed with joy, they rushed back to Jerusalem with the good news that they had seen the Lord. This story is a pattern for life in this age. Ever since Jesus ascended into heaven, he has been physically absent from the world. But he is only “absent” because we do not see him. And one reason we don’t see him is that we might learn to walk by faith and not by sight. Will we be foolish and slow to believe also? Just because we can’t see him doesn’t mean he isn’t there. He is with us in our darkest moments whether we see him or not. It is good for us to be alone so that we might learn that we are never alone.