What do we do when the road is lonely?
Sometimes we need shoes made of iron.
We learned a very simple truth a few weeks ago.
God prepares us for a task by providing us with the right kind of shoes.
We concentrated on one verse of Scripture, Deuteronomy 33:25, Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; As your days, so shall your strength be. We have discussed what that passage might mean. We have asked questions for when the road gets rough, or when the road seems long. What if the road is lonely?
A. W. Tozer (1897 – 1963) was an American pastor, author, magazine editor and mentor. Tozer spent his last years of ministry in the province of Ontario, Canada. Buried in Akron, Ohio, he grave is marked with a simple epitaph: A.W.Tozer – A Man of God. In one of his books, he wrote,
Most of the world’s great souls have been lonely. Loneliness seems to be one price the saint must pay for his saintliness. In the morning of the world (or should we say, in that strange darkness that came soon after the dawn of man’s creation) that pious soul, Enoch, walked with God and was not, for God took him; and while it is not stated in so many words, a fair inference is that Enoch walked a path quite apart from his contemporaries.
Another lonely man was Noah who, of all the antediluvians, found grace in the sight of God; and every shred of evidence points to the aloneness of his life even while surrounded by his people.
Jesus said, “16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me” (Luke 21:16-17 NIV).
WHY IS THE ROAD SO LONELY?
The road for the believer is many times a lonely one. The road that follows Jesus’ endurance to the cross is one that is seldom busy. It can be a rough, long path. It can be a path that few choose to follow. And we so often want a path that is easy.
Last week made me feel lonely. The day was January 22, 2018. Eighteen people were wounded at Marshall County High School, just about 20 miles from the site of an earlier school tragedy in Paducah, Kentucky. A girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Another boy died at the hospital. The suspect was taken into custody by local officials. All were only fifteen.
Loneliness seems to be one price the saint must pay for his saintliness.
According to the Washington Enquirer, the shooting was the 10th incident of gunshots fired on the grounds of US schools in 2018. The next day newscasts focused on the ad nauseum investigations of a possible collusion with the Russians by President Trump, the horrific trial of ex-gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, and marches for women’s rights across the country. Have we really become so callused toward shootings that it doesn’t bother us anymore? Doesn’t anyone understand this isn’t an issue of too many guns, but of too little faith? Am I the only one that sees this connection?
In spite of the noise of the road, I feel surprisingly alone. The voice of God is not found in the riddling of bullets, the cries of the marching crowds, or the screams of the wounded and appalled victims.
Like Elijah, we hear the voice in a whisper. You are not alone. Others have not bowed their knees. I am still here.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV). Even though few choose to walk this path, you are not alone.
WHY IS LONELINESS SO DIFFICULT?
It is a challenge to feel lonely. Loneliness is difficult because we are tempted fiercely by the devil during these troubling times. But remember the biblical truth: Satan is a liar. Here are some of the lies:
1) Loneliness means I am alone. Satan’s huge lie to us is that we walk by ourselves, that no one chooses to walk with us.
2) No one understands. One reason temptation arises is because we don’t know many people who endure the same circumstances and burdens that we are carrying. If the enemy can make us believe that there really is no one who understands, it will tempt us to shut out others even more.
3) A loving God wouldn’t let me take such a road. That same loving God walked with His own Son down the loneliest road ever known to man. 4) I must not have enough faith. Loneliness is not hopelessness. It does not lead to defeat. It is not an indication of a lack of faith. Although we may feel alone, we are never really abandoned.
Jesus wondered if his disciples, both then and now, understood his message. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace” (John 16:31-33 NIV).
You can find peace. Remember, you have shoes fitted for your feet that are up for the task. Even if the road seems lonely.