Listening to a sermon on Abraham, I received a new revelation on how to understand how God so desires a relationship with us. I feel that God so desires a relationship with us, that He will purposely place us in situations where we can only rely upon Him for help.
In the twelfth chapter of the book of Genesis in verse one..1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”
All people at some point or another have felt alone and without someone to lean upon. I’ve often felt alone throughout my life. Even when amongst thousands of people, I still have felt a feeling of being a stranger amongst citizens, or being unable to relate to people, or just someone who was different. That feeling of loneliness was such a normal feeling for me, that over time I became comfortable being alone. Though I so longed for companionship, I found it hard to really identify with most of the people around me. And I always thought that feeling alone was a bad thing; but in reality that is not the case in all circumstances.
God told Abraham to leave his country and the things which were familiar to him. God told him to leave his relatives, and the covering of his father to go out on his own in faith, trusting that God would lead him on the right path. I feel that is wasn’t the fact that God couldn’t bless Abraham in any place, and make the nation of Israel at Abraham’s current home address at the time. I feel it was more so, that God wanted to make Abraham rely more upon Him and not upon the people around him, because God wanted a relationship with him.
A relationship is built upon need. If a person doesn’t need you in their life, what rational reason is there for them to contact you or even want to know you? There is none. Even people who desire to help everyone in the world, can only have enough time and energy to just maintain 3-5 close relationships. No one can be close to everyone; only God has the ability to do that. So… basically when God places you in a position where you feel alone, the feeling is there for a reason. It may be because you’re crazy and weird, but it could be because God is leading you into the blessings he’s preparing you to receive.
Just as Abraham left his home to be led by God, and Jesus left his throne in heaven to take on the flesh of man to purchase our sins, you may need to leave what’s comfortable around you and follow God to places of uncertainty. Doing so to build your relationship with Him and learn to rely on Him, and not rely on your abilities or anything that has been given to you for your blessings. And, do not limit the blessings of God to money and things of the world, like as if God was Santa Claus. God blesses us in so many ways. I think everyone should just take out a part of their week, outside of church, to just sit and recognize God’s blessings, so that we can build up a greater relationship with the Almighty!
So, if you ever feel alone or like a stranger in another country searching for directions in life; know that you are exactly where God wants you to be. Put your trust in Him and don’t lose your hope that things are going to be better than they were before.