We Are Never Alone

Fredy Orozco – Young Adults Pastor

John 16:31-33

Christmas is called the most wonderful time of the year, and in terms of the symbolic value of this holiday, it undoubtedly is! Jesus’ mission of saving sinners for their good and God’s glory began with the virgin birth and baby Jesus sleeping in a manger. However, the holidays also often remind us of the fallen world we live in, with so many people battling loneliness and isolation. Jesus was no stranger to this experience, for in fact, every single one of His disciples would abandon Him in His greatest hour of need when Jesus was betrayed into the hands of the Jewish religious leaders by one of His own followers.

Jesus knew well the pain of loneliness as we can read in John 16:31-33 where He acknowledges His loneliness but also clings to hope: “Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus knew that sometimes we truly feel alone, but in reality we are never alone, because God never leaves us nor forsakes us. Even when abandoned by man, Jesus was able to rejoice in the fact that the Father’s very presence was always with Him. This Christmas season, in the face of loneliness and suffering, may these words of Jesus remind us that we are never alone.

Father, we praise you because you never leave us on our own. You are the faithful God who always keeps His promises.

We confess that often our feelings of loneliness or the problem of pain blind us to the manifold blessings we have in Christ, the largest of which is Your very presence in our hearts.

We ask that You would open our eyes to the reality that Christ overcame all suffering, and help us trust in the power of God’s very presence with us, so that we are empowered to live with joy facing any and every challenge in our own life.