Alone Together

"I am not alone"

John 13:32

Have you ever heard the expression "alone in a crowded room" ?  It's an interesting ~ and very real ~ phenomenon.  It's sort of depressing, actually.  It's a feeling of being surrounded by people, but not being known by anyone, not being understood by anyone.

The word "alone" can be an unpleasant word in and of itself.  Some words carry a lot of power to convey their meaning.  Like "queasy".  Doesn't it make your stomach feel weird just to look at that word?  Or the word "wow".  I just love that word.  It looks amazed, doesn't it?  With that big "O" in the middle.  You can't even say "wow" without looking like the word.  Maybe that's where the word came from:  that it was a reaction to amazing things, a response to something, and then that almost involuntary sound took on a life of its own.

But anyway, I digress.  Not for the first time....

The word "alone" can convey sorrow, and unhappiness.  And the concept of feeling alone in a crowded room, even more so.

But then, I think that there might be good instances, too.  Say, perhaps, falling in love.  I can still vividly remember the first time I met my husband, the Apple of my Eye.  It was in the cafeteria at our high school. There was a connection between us right away, and I did briefly forget that there were hundreds of our classmates in that huge room with us.  I know there have been other instances, too, since that day, when he and I have enjoyed being together so much that our focus was only on each other.

But recently, I had this experience in a new and different way.  I was at a conference, and in a very crowded room.  But it was a Bible conference, so there was plenty of praying and worshipping and great teachings out of the Bible.

And all of a sudden, I was very aware of Jesus, of His presence in my life, and our connection.  The worship was me talking to Him; the teachings were Him talking to me; and the prayer was us talking to each other.  I was not even aware of the hundreds of other people in that room.  It was like I was alone ~ with Him ~ in that crowded room.

And so it always is with Him.  He knows you better, understands you better, and loves you better than anyone else in the universe.  And other than yourself, He's the only One who's with you wherever you go.

So let it be an encouragement to you, that no matter where you are, and with whom, you're with Him.  But let it also be a challenge to you, even in the most chaotic of circumstances, to seek Him out of the crowd, and be alone with Him.  It's the best kind of alone there is.

~ "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 

When can I go and meet with God?" ~

Psalm 42:2