A Pew Research poll recently found that in the United States, 27% of people sixty and over live alone, compared to 16% living alone elsewhere in the world, where elders in the Asia-Pacific region, Sub Saharan Africa, and the Middle East are least likely to live alone, at only 5%.

But Beloved Friends, these are the days of Covid 19, when people of all ages may be in quarantine, and those of us who want to be with our loved ones may be prevented from visiting friends and family out of concern for their health, and even their lives.

How can we cope in isolation? Where can we go when there is literally nowhere to go? To whom can we turn for help when we can’t reach out to the people we need the most? What do we do when we miss each other and all the little joys and pleasures of life that we once took for granted, in a world where everything familiar seems to have disappeared right before our eyes?

The two-part series reposted below, “You Are Not Alone,” follows some of our heroes and heroines from scripture in their loneliest and most difficult times, and asks the questions “What are we missing?” “Why are we here?” and “What do we need?” when we are feeling a loneliness that we cannot escape.

Even though these articles were written in 2018, well before the time of this pandemic, God’s Word is eternal and it applies not only to the heroes of scripture, but to all of us who are called to hold on to hope and courage during the many trials that life here on earth inevitably brings.

We hope you enjoy reading God’s answers to the questions above by clicking on the links below.

As I wrote in “You are not Alone:Part Two”:

 “Rick Warren reminds us, ‘God uses problems to draw you closer to himself. The Bible says, ‘The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit [Ps 34:18].’ Your most profound and intimate experiences…will likely be in your darkest days – when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you’re out of options, when the pain is great – and you turn to God alone.’“

Always remember that especially when the night seems to be the most dark and the days are unbearably long, Jesus promised to all who believe in his name, “And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”  (Matthew 28:20 GW).

As citizens of the United States, whether we are natural-born or naturalized, we learn to recite the Pledge of Allegiance:          

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

We recite the Pledge, because we believe in the founding principles of our country that are based on the equal standing of every human being before Almighty God and our God-given rights, which are to be protected by a freely elected government that is established by the people in order to be for the people - as stated in our Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

But in these tumultuous times, a spirit of unrest, hatred, and division is attempting to destroy what our Founding Fathers and Mothers built. And yet, because we remain one nation, under God, it is our duty as citizens of the United States that we pray for the healing of our nation. Otherwise, the blessings of liberty and the freedom to practice our religious and spiritual beliefs – whatever they may be – will be taken from us.

It is recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) that Jesus stated very clearly that “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (Mark 3:24-25). Therefore, what kind of a spirit is it, that goes against the words of Christ, attempting to divide what God has put together?

And I humbly and sincerely ask you to join us in special prayer for our President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania and their family, for healing, strength, comfort, and wisdom. And for continued health, strength, and wisdom for Vice President Pence and his family. And I ask you to join us in prayer for former Vice President Biden and his wife and family, and Senator Harris and her family, that they will continue to be healthy, and for strength, comfort, and wisdom.

Please pray that whomever is granted the privilege of leading this country in all the levels of government now and in the future will be guided by the word of God, and led by his Holy Spirit to uphold the principles of peace, faith, morality, and equal justice under the law.

“For the Lord gives wisdom;

    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

    he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

 guarding the paths of justice

    and watching over the way of his saints.

(Proverbs 2:6-8)

All scriptures are from the English Standard Version translation.

In his book, “Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit,” Henri Nouwen wrote about the experience he had watching a sculptor chiseling away at a large block of stone. As he watched, Nouwen wondered whether the striking of the hammer against the chisel, and the chisel against the stone caused the rock to feel pain. But suddenly, he realized that emerging from the marble was the form of a beautiful dancer. In that moment, Nouwen understood that in the hands of God, everything is grace.

The gospel of Luke tells us that immediately after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan river, he “…was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil” (4:1:2). Luke went on to write that afterward, again being led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth in Galilee, “…and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country” (4:14). When he came into the synagogue on that Sabbath day, Jesus unrolled the scroll of the book of Isaiah before the people, and read:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

    because he has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

    and recovering of sight to the blind,

    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

And Jesus said, “’Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:18-19, 21).

If you are feeling that the mission God has planted in your heart is facing opposition from the enemy, or that the hammer and chisel of transformation are ringing a little too loudly in your ears, fear not, dear Friend! God is at work in you, right now, to bring forth the original purpose he designed specifically for you. Sometimes God’s handiwork feels like trials and testing. But remember, our mission is to allow ourselves to be transformed so that we may glorify his name – and then – give him all the praise as we become his hands and feet sent out into the world to speak his word with boldness and his truth with love. Isaiah saw this when he wrote, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’” (52:7). Jesus demonstrated this to his disciples when he washed their feet at the Last Supper, before his crucifixion (See John 13).

As Henri Nouwen discovered, with God, everything is grace. As we climb the mountains set before us, our steps become beautiful as Jesus transforms our journey from the ashes of mourning to joy and beauty. Because he is with us, we have nothing to fear, and there is no need to rush.