Jesus Cures All – Daily Message
February 17, 2021
I saw this picture and thought how many times have we felt this isolated?
Perhaps We Need to Look through a Child’s Eyes?
A young girl came home from her first day of kindergarten, she told her mom that she’d spent part of recess sitting on the “Buddy Bench.”
The Buddy Bench was a brightly painted bench on the edge of a school’s playground, designed to help kids who don’t have playmates connect with other kids. Students are taught that anytime they see someone sitting in that particular spot, they should invite that child to play.
I love this so much—and absolutely hated that this young girl had felt so lonely that she needed to sit there. The young girl, on the other hand, was far from devastated. To her, this was a simple problem that had been quickly solved, nothing to agonize over or worry about.
We’d imagine her sniffling and insecure in those moments she sat there alone, but in reality, she waited calmly and confidently.
See, she never doubted that the Buddy Bench would work. Though she was alone for a time, she could see her classmates playing from where she sat—and she trusted that they’d notice her and include her soon. She walked to the Buddy Bench that day, not in defeat but with determination, she knew she was not truly alone.
Similarly, when we trust that God is always with us, that He sees us, and that He will protect and provide for us, we can also wait with peace and purpose.
Finding ourselves without a pal on the playground pales in comparison to the problems many of us face as adults. But the principle remains true today.
Hard times will come, but God doesn’t leave us here to deal with challenges alone. Even when we feel alone, perhaps because nobody else could possibly understand our unique situation or because we really have been abandoned by the ones we thought were our true blue friends, we aren’t actually alone.
Though we can’t see Him, God is here with us every second of every day. He hasn’t abandoned us, and He does understand. In fact, He’s given us the Holy Spirit and invited us into conversation and relationship through prayer.
It’s like He’s given us a Buddy Bench (prayer) and a buddy (the Holy Spirit).
Maybe I’m stretching this metaphor a little too far. But that doesn’t change the fact that we are not alone. No matter how isolating our circumstances or how specific our pain may be, God sees us.
He is with the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), and He will never leave us alone (Deuteronomy 31:8).
No matter what comes our way, we are not alone.
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:2-3
____________________
One More Thought
Contagiously Calm
How many disasters have been averted because one person refused to buckle under the strain? It’s this kind of composure Paul is summoning when he says: “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything.” Philippians 4:5-6
The Greek word translated here as “gentleness” describes a temperament that’s seasoned and mature. It envisions an attitude fitting to the occasion, levelheaded and tempered
This gentleness is “evident to all.” Family members take note. Your friends sense a difference. Coworkers benefit from it.
The gentle person is sober minded and clear thinking. The contagiously calm person is the one who reminds others God is in control.
Pursue this gentleness. The Lord is near. You are not alone. You may feel alone, you may think you’re alone, but there is never a moment in which you face life without help.
God is near—be anxious for nothing!
© Credits: Alan Dupuis – with All the Glory to God
Comments are closed.