2 Corinthians 4:9 states:

“We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”

There’s something about being with dear friends. Something about those close to us being around. We feel safe, loved, wanted. My mind takes me to the holidays - family and friends come over for Thanksgiving or Christmas. You feel surrounded by people who love you. But the time fast approaches when the house it empty - immediately the feelings of life, fun, comfort, can quickly loose to a cold, empty atmosphere. You feel alone.

Often we hear of people saying they feel alone - no one is there. Well I’m here to say we are never alone. And beyond that, never abandoned in the Lord. He is always with us, every step and breathe we make - He is with us.

In 2 Corinthians 4 Paul recounts his suffering for the Gospel. And this man truly suffered! In one account Paul is beaten to such a point as left as dead, but in fact Paul gets up and flees. He can truly say that God never abandoned him. The very nature of our God is to care for His children - He is our Father. He has our best intentions in mind. He is the Father that never leaves, the friend that doesn’t let down.

Reflect on Psalm 139 - this Psalm focuses on the omnipresence of God - He is everywhere, and we are never alone!

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

God is always with us - He will never leave us or forsake us. All praise be unto God our Heavenly Father, who is always with us.