Never Alone – The Worst 45 Minutes

I read a sad quote from Orson Welles the other day. 

“We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.”

While this may be Orson’s self-absorbed, depressed perspective, I believe it is completely false.  Don’t believe that statement for a minute.   

When people face intense times of crisis and pain, (and we all have or will at some point), many feel an overwhelming sense of “aloneness”.  In other words, in times of death of a loved one, divorce, betrayal, loss, etc, we are tempted to say and feel - “I am all alone!”   This is a terrible feeling and causes depression and anxiety.  If left un-checked, it can lead to chronic depression and worse.

I once experienced an event where, for about 45 minutes (which seemed like 4 days), I felt terribly and utterly alone and had no hope.  I can say without reservation that it was the worst 45 minutes of my 40 years on this earth.  It was awful and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

However, through that experience, I learned some powerful things and I’m supposed to share them with you.   Here are the things I learned from that “worst 45 minutes”:

1.       I was never actually alone:  As soon as I ran to the Lord (in prayer), he began to remind me that he had never left me – not once, not for a second.  He was there all the time. One of the many amazing things about God is that he always keeps his promises.  He promises over and over again throughout the Bible that he will never leave us or forsake us.  That is amazing.  Even though you may “feel” alone at a particular time, you can know that God is right “there” standing over your shoulder.  If you will go to him in prayer, you’ll begin to understand what I mean.

2.       Friends/Family can help – One of the things the Lord reminded me when I was running to Him was that He had already provided me with amazing friends and family who were all only a phone call away.  Why had I forgotten this?!!  In fact, it took only one phone call before I had a dozen different friends and family at my door to help me through this.  Note: The reality for many is that they don’t have “blood” relatives in which they can rely.  In this case, your other friends can be your “family”.  In my life, my close friends are as much my family as my wonderful “blood” family. – (thank you God for all of them!)

3.       Pain and defeat can be turned to joy and victory –I’ve learned over the years that God can turn the worst situation into something amazing and wonderful.    He can transform the most broken of lives into a shining example of victory.  He can turn a crushed relationship into a redeemed, loving example of grace.   Basically, there is nothing broken that Jesus can’t fix.  I’ve seen too many examples to doubt His ability to make things “right” again.

The simple truth is that if you have a relationship with the Lord through Jesus, you will never be alone.  It’s a promise from God that can be found over and over again in the Bible and in everyday life.   He said it best Himself:

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” – John 14:18. 

Here’s one of my favorites:

“Be strong and courageous.   Do not be afraid or terrified…, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy  31:6

The question for you is this:  Do you have a relationship with the Lord so that you never have to be alone when crisis hits?