1 Thessalonians 3:3 - Going it Alone

1 Thessalonians 3:3 "and to keep you from becoming disturbed by the troubles you were going through. But, of course, you know that such troubles are going to happen to us Christians." (NLT)

There have been many times I have been alone in my life because I wished it........I sought it out. Before God was at the center of my life, I had convinced myself that there was a certain nobility...........a certain mystique associated with being alone. And for awhile I'd enjoy the artificial peace I had created...

But all too soon the time came for me to return to the rest of the world.......and to the problems I had been trying to escape.

That's when I would become lonely.........that's when I would have to face the all the problems I left behind with no one to help me sort through them.

I spent a good amount of time searching for answers in the words of men, but those words gave me no comfort for what was ailing me. What I was searching for in the vast reaches of the intellect of men was something...............someone to bring it all together. I knew God was there somewhere, but I didn't feel Him. And even though I was brought up to respect and revere Him, I never felt Him personally until one night when I had enough and in my desperation I invited Him in to my life.

I wasn't ready for what followed though. Brother Paul's scripture above alludes to some of the trials all Christians face when they ultimately decide to seek the ways of the Lord. Most of my troubles, though, were of my making. I would seek out the Lord, get an answer or a solution to my question or problem, and then set out on my own to try to fix it............then scratch my head trying to figure out what went wrong.

What went wrong was the Lord was not there helping me solve the problem. I had consulted Him, yes, but when it came to executing the strategy, I left Him behind.

After a good amount of busting myself up trying it my way, I finally decided to let the Lord handle it from start to finish......with me functioning more as an observer than an active participant.

I still face problems in my life, but my Lord is there to handle them with me.........to comfort me...........to consult with me. I now don't want to be alone because it means He's not there........and it means I'm back to trying to face things on my own. And since I've already tried that approach, and I know it doesn't work, I'm not interested in going down that dead-end road again.

Love in Jesus,

Jim

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"But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired." (1 Corinthians 12:18 NASB)

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

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This devotional was originally posted on CCI-Devo - Daily Group Devotionals on December 15, 2003 in post #430. It was written by Jim Ross, a former United Pentecostal Church member, who attends Christian Challenge International, the sponsor of the devotional group. The devotional is the copyright of Jim Ross and is reprinted on this site by permission.

Page added April 17, 2006

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