CE 1 YEAR: 21 God is With You & For You

Week 21

God is With You & For You

The problem of loneliness

God created you with the need for relationship. God said at the beginning of Creation: “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen 2:18). Loneliness is the first thing God ever said was not good. It is one of the most painful human experiences. It is feeling like you are not connected, noticed, understood, or needed by anyone. And while other humans can help, no human can fully meet your need for relationship. Not even a spouse. This is why even in good marriages people can feel misunderstood, disconnected, and lonely. We discussed this more thoroughly in Week 12 (“Idolatry”) regarding the topic of making people an idol in our lives.

If you are not married, or living alone, or an unpopular kid in school, or just find it hard to make friends, then loneliness can be a daily struggle for you. Even those who have lots of “friends” and are surrounded by people can still experience the great pain of loneliness.

Loneliness in your Christian life is very damaging. When you experience painful events in your life and feel like your real Dad is not there, it is even more painful. And it deceives you into thinking you must go through life alone and depend on yourself. When you feel alone, you are more tempted to sin and do things that will hurt your life. But “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” (Heb 13:5). Your Dad’s constant presence means you are never alone.

The presence of God

Your Father has promised: “I will never leave you” (Heb 13:5). you are a child of God, you are never alone. Your Dad in Heaven is always watching you. He always knows everything about you and your day including your thoughts, actions, and struggles. He even knows how many hairs are on your head which probably changes every day! (cf. Matt 10:30).

Read how close and personal David believed God was in his life (Psalm 139:1-12; 17-18). Your Dad always sees you. Even if it feels like people do not see you. When you are in the dark at night, He sees you. When you are sleeping, He is watching you. And when you wake up, He is right there! God is always so close to you that whenever you pray, He hears every word.

You do not need to do anything to obtain the presence of God. (Rom 8:35-39). He is already always with you. But you need to recognize this so you can experience His presence. God is never absent from you. But He can feel absent if you believe the lie that you are separated from Him. This is one reason God wants you to pray and praise Him continually (1 Thess 5:16-18). These help you realize the presence of your Dad throughout your day and in the midst of painful things.

Not even death separates you from God (Rom 8:38-39). When you die, your soul, the real eternal you, leaves your body immediately and goes to God in Heaven (Phil 1:23). You will never be separated from the presence of God. He even lives inside of you! (John 14:20; 1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 13:5).

All of this leads to an amazing truth. You are never doing anything alone in your life. If you could constantly imagine Jesus Christ being physically with you every moment of every day, you would experience what is spiritually true! When you ride in your car, He is in the seat next to you. When you are eating, He is at the table. When you are working, He is working with you. You are always a “we” or “us” and never just an “I” or “me.” God wants you to experience everything in your life with Him!

The constant presence of God in your life should also strengthen you against temptation. There is no such thing as a “secret sin.” We can easily deceive ourselves into thinking we can do something “when no one is looking” or “no one will know.” This presumed secrecy about sin gives it so much power! But what if you never forgot that God is always watching you?! Not to condemn you but to strengthen you and comfort you because He loves you (see Psalm 33:14-15; Jer 16:17; 23:24; Heb 4:13).

God is for you

So many Christians live in fear of the future. They always think the worst is going to happen. They forget the most repeated command in Scripture: “Do not be afraid.” If your Dad tells you not to be afraid, then there must be nothing to be afraid of! And if you are, it is because you are believing a lie.

You learned in Week 8 (“God’s Glory”) that your Dad does allow difficulties and tests of faith in your life. But this is not to ruin your life. If you will speak to any Christian who has been following God for some time, they will give you the same testimony as David who said: “Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned” (Psalm 37:25). Your Dad will always come through for you. Always.

Hard things will happen, but the overall experience of a child of God is tremendous blessings. The honest confession of any sincere Christian at the end of their life will be: “God was good to me.” This is because of who your Dad is. The Bible says many times “God is good” (Psalm 100:5; 106:1; 136:1; 145:9; Jer 33:11; Nahum 1:7). And He is your Dad. And He is a very generous Dad who greatly enjoys blessing His sons and daughters.

In Romans 8:31 there is a hidden but powerful promise about God. The Apostle Paul says, “God is for us.” Just four small words. But very powerful words if you believe them.

First, God is for you. It is one thing to have the support of a human being. Even a powerful human being. But the One who is for you is the most powerful Person in the Universe, the Almighty God and ultimate Creator and Ruler of everything and everyone. God is for you!

Secondly, God is for you. This is a promise. Whatever you have experienced in the past, God’s word does not lie. No matter what happens to you in your future, God’s word does not lie. God is for you, all the time, everywhere, and in all things, with no exceptions!

Thirdly, God is for you. That little word means a lot. God favors you. He supports, values, helps, and blesses you. Your real Dad is not standing above you just watching and waiting for you to fail. He is standing behind you, and working in front of you, to help you succeed in all that is good. He is cheering for you and rejoicing over you every day. God is for you (Zeph 3:17)!

Finally, God is for you. God is not just for all those saints in the Bible like Abraham, Moses, Joshua and David. God is for you just like them. And like them, Your Dad has a unique plan to bless your life. What He told His OT people is certainly true of you: He has plans for your good (Jer 29:11). What else do you need to know about this life? “God is for us.”

God is generous

You do not have a stingy Dad in Heaven. Paul reminds us He did not spare even his own Son but gave Him up for us all (Rom 8:32). Notice how much God was willing to do and give, when you had a need in your life. God gave up His own Son when you needed forgiveness. He responds just as generously with all of your needs. God has already fulfilled your greatest need at the greatest cost to Him. So why do you doubt that He will also give you everything else you need?

God wants to generously bless your life in all kinds of ways. David proclaimed from his experience with God that He is the One, “who satisfies your desires with good things” (Ps 103:5). God is good and intends to be good to you.

You may struggle to believe this because you know you do not deserve such generosity. No one deserves the blessings or kindness of God. But God loves to give His children much more than they deserve (Ps 103:10). He, “gives generously to all without finding fault” (Jam 1:5). Your Dad’s blessings are not dependent on your performance. He likes to bless you when you do not deserve it.

Do not be afraid

Your real Dad wants you to be like the Proverbs 31 woman who “is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future” (v. 25). Do you smile and laugh when you think about the future because you know God is going to be there blessing you?

Think about how good God has been to you in the past. Think about how good He will be to you in your eternal future. So why is it so hard to think He will be good to you in between those times?

Your Dad forgives you for being so anxious about everything. But He encourages you not to be. In fact, He invites you to, “Give all your worries and cares to God because He cares about you” (1 Pet 5:7). Decide every day to trust in your Dad’s provision and goodness no matter what happens. To believe “God is for you” and will bless you.

Your Dad does not want you focused on meeting your needs like “unbelievers,” but to be focused on serving and loving others. And while you do so, He promises to take care of you (Matt 6:30-33). Why is it important to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously” if God is going to bless you? Because if you seek God for the purpose of getting rich, then His blessings will become an idol to you, and you will fail to serve and please God. This is another danger of the false “health and wealth gospel.” But your Dad says:

Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So, we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear.” (Heb 13:5-6)

Practical Application: Is there something you want or need that you are afraid you will not have? Pray to God about this. Also thank Him for all the ways He has already provided for you. Seek Him to experience His peace about your need (see Phil 4:6-7).

In your small group meeting this week, share praises and prayer requests and then discuss these questions:

1) Why is loneliness so painful?

2) What has God promised so that you will never be alone?

3) How does God’s presence apply to my everyday life?

4) What are among the most powerful four words in Scripture?

5) What promises from God can help us to not fear the future?

6) What was especially meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?