Orange Moon Wednesday, April 1, 2026 "Not Alone"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"Not Alone" 

       

    Under the radar.  Behind the scenes.  Far from the crowd.  The Lord Jesus Christ lived most of His earthly lifetime in private rather than public terms.  Scripture records only one "public" episode during the first 30 years of His earthly lifetime, on the occasion of being left behind at the temple in Jerusalem.  There, He astonished religious teachers by His wisdom and knowledge (Luke 2:42-52).  However, eighteen years of obscurity followed the event, as through His earthly parents, His Heavenly Father made known the largely hidden paths to which He called the Lord Jesus.  Even during the three years of His ministry, our Savior often retreated to solitary places in mountains, wildernesses, and gardens to seek the privacy that characterized so much of His earthly lifetime.  He often sought aloneness - because He realized He was not alone.

    "I am not alone, because the Father is with Me" (John 16:32).

     As born again believers "walk by faith, not by sight," the presence of God with and within us often  presents great challenge to our remembrance (II Corinthians 5:7).  We know He is with us, believing the truth as a matter of doctrine and conviction.  However, life often tempts us to feel, think, and act as if we are alone.  No less than David the Psalmist, a man sure of his Lord's "very present help in trouble," also cried out, "Why standest Thou afar off, o Lord?  Why hidest Thyself in times of trouble?" (Psalm 46:1; 10:1).  What we know to be real is not always what we feel.  Nor do appearances always indicate the abiding presence of our Lord at all times, and in all things.  "I watch, and am as a sparrow alone on the housetop" (Psalm 102:7).

    A great portion of our lives finds us journeying along obscure pathways of both heart and life.  The challenge of solitude calls us to remember the One who lived most of His life privately because He knew so well the Father best found under the radar, behind the scenes, and far from the crowd.  In Christ, God bestows the gift of Himself as the Life of our lives, the abiding Presence, and the fulfillment of our hearts.  "I am not alone, because the Father is with Me" said our Lord.  Because of His redeeming work on our behalf, we can say the same.  We must, first, because the Truth is true.  And then because our Heavenly Father would have us realize and affirm by faith that even when we feel alone and hidden to all, the words of the Lord Jesus form our confession as well - "I am not alone."

"I am with you always."

(Matthew 28:20)

Weekly Memory Verse 

    For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.

(Psalm 100:5)

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