After God had created the first man, He said, "It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18).God recognized man’s need for companionship, so He created the woman to be man’s helper.He then bound the man and the woman together in marriage for life so that neither would ever have to be alone.
Truly, it is never good for a man or a woman to be alone.This does not mean that individuals do not need moments of solitude, but rather it means that a continual state of isolation is not good for anyone.We all need frequent, positive, godly interaction with others.Loneliness is harmful to us emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.All of us need to love others and to be loved by others (1Cor. 13:1-3; 1John 4:7-21), but isolation makes expressions of love impossible.This is why it is bad to be alone.
However, none of us are ever truly alone when we have a relationship with the Almighty God.God is a friend who is always with us and always hears us.He loves us and constantly cares for us in more ways than we can imagine (Eph. 3:20).There is nothing that can separate us from Him or His love – "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).Even in death, we do not have to be alone (Ps. 23:4).
To properly realize the abiding presence of God and His companionship, one must have spiritual understanding.God cannot be seen, heard, or touched as if He was a man, but we can be aware of His constant presence through faith, which is "the evidence of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).Through faith, God becomes as real to us as anything we can experience.If we have faith in Him, then we can come to the same understanding of Him that David expressed in Psalm 139:7-12:
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,”
Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
A wonderful illustration of such spiritual understanding is that of the prophet Jonah.In defiance of God, Jonah boarded a ship bound for Tarshish and soon found himself in the midst of a great storm.On his own advice, the crew of the ship cast Jonah into the sea to calm the storm, and Jonah was swallowed by a great fish.There in the belly of that fish and the depths of the sea, Jonah prayed and was heard by God (Jon. 2:1-9).Consider some of Jonah’s words:
"I called out of my distress to the LORD, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.” (v. 2)
"I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, but You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.” (v. 6)
"While I was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple.” (v. 7)
Even though Jonah had done wrong, God did not abandon him when he was in need.Jonah had not descended to a place physically or spiritual where God could not be found.Even in the depths of the sea and the belly of a fish because of his rebellion, God was present for this remorseful, penitent man.
For those who believe in God, these are comforting thoughts.No person should ever feel alone, for God is always there.This does not mean that sinners may continue in their wickedness and expect to receive God’s favor, "For the eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil” (1Pet. 3:12).However, it does mean that those who are willing to walk in the light as He is in the light have an abiding fellowship with the forgiving God of heaven (1John 1:5-10).
Therefore, do not feel that you are alone anywhere or any time in this world."Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Jas. 4:8).Have the faith to recognize that you are always within the sight of God (Heb. 4:13).There is nowhere that you may go from His Spirit.Do not let this be a cause of fear for you, but rather be comforted.God loves you, and you are never alone.
