You are not alone!
Have you ever felt discouraged as a Christian? Have you ever felt that your life has been a failure? And do you know what it is like to be frightened about the future?
Well, take heart! You’re not the first child of God to feel this way.
In fact, it may surprise you to know that none other than the great apostle Paul seemed to be struggling with these very same problems. Paul found himself stuck in a Roman prison because of his faithfulness to preach the gospel.
But one night, Jesus came to pay him a visit:
“But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you
must also bear witness at Rome'” (Acts 23:11 NKJV).
God has not, nor will He abandon you.
Even though the local Christians did not help him, the Lord had come to visit him. Later, in his last epistle, Paul wrote, “Everyone abandoned me” (2 Timothy 4:16 NLT).
Have you ever felt that way? Abandoned, forgotten, forsaken? Know this: God has not abandoned you!
The Lord is with you
Know this today: He can compensate, by His own loving presence, for every earthly loss.
C.H. Spurgeon said, “If all else forsook him, Jesus was company enough. If all others despised him, the smile of Jesus was approval enough. If the good cause seemed to be in danger, in the presence of his Master victory was sure. The Lord who has stood for him at the cross now stood for him in the prison. It was a dungeon, but the Lord was there; It was dark, but the glory of the Lord lit it up with Heaven’s own splendor. Better to be in a jail with the Lord than to be anywhere else without Him.”
No matter what you are going through right now, know this: you are not alone. God is there with you, wanting to bring encouragement to you.
