Genesis 2:18 “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” Today's episode talks about how we are not meant to do live alone. We are meant to turn to God in times of trouble. It also talks about how important it is that we reach out to our friends when we are struggling. It stresses that we are not alone. There is always someone who is going through the same thing we are going through. It is important that we reach out and talk about what we are going through. It gives others the chance to speak truth into our darkness. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
You Are Not Alone
Genesis 2:18 “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.”
I wholeheartedly agree with this verse. We were not meant to be alone. This doesn’t mean that we all need to be married or have kids. It just means that we are all meant to have people we do life with. I have talked a few times recently about how important community is to a fulfilling life. There are very few people who were meant to go through life alone. I know there are hermits out there who dedicate their whole lives to being secluded and spending all their time with God. Most of us are not called to this life. Actually, St. Catherine of Sienna wanted to live this life when she was just a little girl. She ran away from home to go live by herself in the caves outside of her town. An angel appeared to her and told her she was meant to be a light in the world, not separate from it. The same is true for most of us.
However, living in the world can be hard because it is often filled with heartache. How we deal with heartache is the key to our success. When we are struggling, we need to turn to the Lord for help. It also helps to turn to our friends for support. They can build us up and speak truth and light into the lies and the darkness. However, instead of turning to our friends for support, we tend to separate ourselves from others. We tend to pull away because we don’t want to talk about it or we know others won’t understand.
A while back my heart was hurting for several ladies who I know that are struggling. Actually, every time I look at Facebook, there are messages from people who are struggling. However, that week specifically, there were two ladies who do not know each other or live near each other who had 15-year-old children who had to go to court. There are two other women who are not able to spend the holidays with their children for one reason or another. Then, I saw a post about a friend who was really hurting because she could not see her oldest child graduate college. While thinking about all the people who are hurting right now, the one thing I wish everyone knew, like really in the depth of their heart knew, is that they are never alone. I think so many of us think we shouldn’t talk about what is going on because no one will understand or no one else is going through the same thing. People think that they will be judged or that they deserve the bad thing that is happening to them. This is not true!
There are 7 ½ billion people in this world. Whatever it is that you are going through, someone else is going through the same thing right now at this same time. There are also people who have gone through it already and can shine a light into your darkness. They can show you one way to get through your situation. They can also give you hope because if they got through it, you can too! Talking about the difficult things you are going through with people you know and trust can be so therapeutic. Sometimes, we don’t want to talk about our problems because we don’t want to bother people, especially if they have their own troubles. Our friends and loved ones want to help us. It is not a bother for them to hear how you are suffering. Sometimes it can even help them with their troubles as well. You will be amazed how much stronger your relationships can get when you are able to open up and let people in to help. Another reason talking about your struggles can be helpful is because you may be further along in your journey than someone else who has the same struggles. You may be talking with someone who is having the same issue but is afraid to talk about it. Hearing you talk about it can show them that it is ok to talk about what they are going through. I have seen this happen in numerous Facebook groups. Someone is vulnerable and shares their story and then someone else reads it and feels the courage to share their story.
I truly feel that it is the work of the enemy to make us feel so alone. He is there whispering in our ears all the reasons we should not talk about what is bothering us. He wants us to keep our troubles to ourselves because when we feel alone we feel hopeless. I am not sure if you have read or seen Harry Potter, but there was a scene where the main character, Harry, was really struggling with feeling alone. Every time Harry was with his friends, he would push them away. Harry would tell them they just didn’t understand. They wanted desperately to be there for him, but he would not let them. Harry then went for a walk and ran into another friend. He explained that he felt like he was alone and no one believed him. She said, “I don’t think that is true. Although, I suppose that is how he wants you to feel.” When Harry asked what she meant, she said, “Well, if it's just you all alone, then you aren’t that much of a threat.” I believe it is the same with our enemy. If we are alone and not talking with our family and friends about how we are feeling, then the only voices that we have are the enemy’s whispers. However, if we reach out and tell our story to those who love us, they can speak truth into our darkness. The enemy is the father of lies and he speaks half-truths and lies into our ears so that we believe there is no one that can help us.
Be vulnerable, open up, and share your struggles with someone. You will feel better just saying it out loud. Don’t go through things alone when you don’t have to. Seek out people that you can trust to talk to. You may not even know that someone else is going through the same thing until you have the courage to raise your hand and say that you are going through it. If you are in a circumstance where you honestly feel like you do not have a single person that you can talk to, then talk to God. Ask God to reveal to you in your life that you could talk to about your situation. Ask God to bring someone into your life that you can talk to that will help you through. Ask God for the strength to help you through your current circumstances. Ask God for the courage to talk about what is bothering you. God listens to our prayers, He listens when we ask him for the things we need, He is always with us, and he gives us strength when we don’t have any on our own.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are truly amazing. Lord, help us to realize we are not alone. Help us to see that you made us live in a community with others. Help us to recognize the trick of the enemy to isolate us and to speak lies into our hearts and minds. Lord, please put people into our lives who will recognize when we are pulling away and call us back. Help us to open up and share our troubles with others. Help us to hear others when they are trying to speak truth into our darkness. Help us, Lord! We love you, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Mentoring is tonight. I hope to see you there. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received by a member of the Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group; for more info about the prayer group or these words given, email catholiccharismaticprayergroup@gmail.com. Today’s word came in the form of a vision. Vision: We were singing in tongues of peace. Bits of peace, like confetti, falling down on the entire world because we have asked for it right here. Some of the confetti was falling into the mud and being trodden underfoot. Some of the confetti was being picked up by a young hand and put into a sweater pocket to be brought home. And some, I saw a man looking up at the confetti of peace falling, wondering what it was.