You Matter. Might Not Feel Like It, But God Made You And He Has A Good Plan For You ...Cuz You Matter To Him! Always Did. Even If You Don't Like His Plan For You Right Now.. Do You Know What It Is?

The Bible says of your Heavenly Father, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:16 nlt).

One of the deepest longings in the human heart is the desire to know that we matter.

People want to know they are seen. They want to know they are valued. They want to know they are not forgotten, ignored, discarded, or treated as though they are insignificant.

Few things wound the human spirit more deeply than feeling invisible.

Many people walk through life carrying hidden questions:

• Does anyone really care about me?
• Does my life matter?
• Would anyone notice if I were gone?
• Am I just another face in the crowd?

The world often measures a person's value by popularity, appearance, wealth, influence, accomplishments, education, athletic ability, social status, or the applause of others. But God's Word measures human worth very differently.

The Bible teaches that every human being possesses dignity and significance because every human being is created in the image of God.

"So God created man in his own image." (Genesis 1:27)

Your value does not come from what you own.

Your value does not come from what you have achieved.

Your value does not come from how many people know your name.

Your value comes from the God who made you.

King David marveled at this truth:

"You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalm 139:16 nlt

You Were Built for Significance: Why You Matter to the Sovereign God

The deepest, quietest ache of the human heart is the desire to know that our existence carries weight. No one wants to be a nameless face fading into an indifferent crowd. We are intrinsically wired to crave significance.

Barna research group data consistently reveals that a staggering majority of adults wrestle daily with deep-seated loneliness and a perceived lack of purpose. Deep down, we are all like that third-grader in a classroom in Princeton, New Jersey, called up to the teacher’s desk—not because we aced a test or broke a record, but simply to cut out paper daisies for a bulletin board. Decades may pass, yet the soul remembers the precise moment it felt seen.

But human recognition is a fickle anchor. Your true significance is an objective, unshakeable reality rooted entirely in the Imago Dei—the image of God.

As the classic hymn beautifully reminds us:

"Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come... when Jesus is my portion? A constant friend is He: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."

The Divine Blueprint of Your Life

Your worth is not a status you earn; it is an identity assigned to you by the Creator of the cosmos. Before you ever drew breath, you were known, mapped, and treasured.

The Psalmist captures this architectural marvel of grace in Psalm 139:13–14 (NLT):

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”

Consider the profound depth of your origin story. You are not a cosmic accident or a biological byproduct. God spent time forming you, weaving your personality, your gifts, and your days with absolute precision.

In a stunningly beautiful paraphrase of eternal design, Psalm 139:16 (NLT) declares:

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

The 17th-century Puritan writer John Flavel once noted, "The providence of God is like a Hebrew word—it can only be read backwards." When you look back at the tapestry of your life, you see that the Sovereign Lord wrote your story before the first page even turned. You do not need to perform, hustle, or prove your worth to a culture obsessed with metrics.

Psalm 139:17 (NLT) solidifies this intimate truth:

“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!”

The Battleground of the Mind

If you are inherently valuable, why do you often feel so insignificant? The answer lies in the territory of your thoughts. Your mind is the cockpit of your life.

• The Principle of Focus: Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) warns, “For as [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he.” What you consume ultimately consumes you.

• The Guardrail of Peace: Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) promises, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

To maintain personal peace, you must guard your digital and spiritual gates. Before you download, watch, or listen to anything, ask a diagnostic question: Will this build me up, or will it tear me down spiritually?

The Apostle Paul provided the ultimate mental filter in Philippians 4:8 (NLT):

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Trading Panic for Sovereign Prayer

We live in a fallen world where tragedy is an unbiased reality. As Matthew 5:45 notes, the rain falls on both the just and the unjust. Believers and unbelievers alike face sudden storms, heartbreak, and suffering.

The differentiator for the Christian is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of a Comforter. When anxiety strikes, your mandate is to turn your panic into prayer.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT)

God is not distant or clinical. He keeps an active ledger of your heartbreaks. Psalm 56:8 (NKJV) writes, “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?” Every tear you shed matters to the One who numbers the stars.

God is the Sovereign Provider of Our Daily Bread

When Jesus modeled prayer for us, He anchored our daily dependence firmly in the character of God:

“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread..” — Matthew 6:9–11

This template is a declaration of absolute dependence. When we pray for our daily bread, we acknowledge three unyielding truths:

1. The Greatness of God: He is our holy Father.

2. The Will of God: His agenda supersedes our own.

3. The Provision of God: Everything we possess is a gift.

You may work hard, budget wisely, and build an impressive resume. But make no mistake: your clear thinking came from God. Your beating heart is sustained by His mercy. The blood coursing through your veins is by His decree. Your house, your car, your talents, and your very next breath are all direct provisions from the Lord.

The lesser-known Christian writer Lilias Trotter once wrote, "Never or near as we may think ourselves to the edge of ruin, the hand of God is always under us."

Everyone on here shares these five things.

1.) People in America feel bored. (Yes, and globally too). People essentially feel what? Numb inside and bored out of their gourd -- they are craving some risky exciting adventure and love.

2.) People essentially feel lonely. It would scare you to know how many feel this way in this very connected society. Yes, we can assume there is a sense of loneliness inside of every individual. They feel overlooked, neglected and so insignificant.

Albert Einstein once wrote, “It is strange to be known so universally and yet be so lonely.” People so often feel lonely. We need to know that about many of those around us. 

3.) People have a sense of guilt cuz well.. they're guilty. We've all fallen short says the Bible. I've been there before. People do their best to try and mask it with say alcohol or have a psychologist or psychiatrist tell them it is not there. But they have to deal with their guilt over the things they have done wrong. The head of a mental institution in London said, “I could release half of my patients if I could find a way to relieve them of their sense of guilt.” 

4.) People feel empty inside. Yes, there is an essential emptiness in every person who hasn’t yet come to Christ. Everyone is essentially empty. No matter how much money or prestige someone has, everyone has to deal with that emptiness. Scripture says that God made His creation subject to vanity or emptiness, meaning there is a void, a hole if you will, inside every man, woman, and child. 

5.) People are afraid to die. Maybe not death, but getting that way. Some swagger around saying, “Not me Bro. I’m never afraid to die.” But guess what they often are. We have failed with God's good and protective commands, but in His agape love Jesus can still rescue and help em. Anyone, whosoever will honestly come to Him.

Hey, you matter and if it matters to you (whatever it is that bugs you), it matters to Him too. God loves you! 

Bring Him your massive crises and your microscopic worries. You are intimately known, thoroughly recorded, and deeply loved by the King of Kings. Turn your gaze away from the mirror of public opinion, fix your thoughts on Christ, and rest in the peace that only He can provide. KnowGod.org

Lonliness, it sadly happens for so many in big cities and out in the country too. Have you ever been?

Jesus Cares About All Those Lonely Hearts

He understands and cares about you. 

Loneliness is one of the most common yet least admitted struggles in our world.

A woman once bought a talking parrot because she was lonely. The pet store owner convinced her to buy a mirror, then a ladder, then a swing. Weeks later she returned with sad news.

"My parrot died."

"Did it ever talk?" the owner asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"What did it say?"

The parrot's final words were, "Don't they have any bird food down there at the pet store?"

It's a humorous story, but it reveals a serious truth. Many people spend their lives searching for everything except what they truly need.

Some look for fulfillment in possessions. Others pursue success, relationships, entertainment, popularity, or pleasure. Yet loneliness remains.

As one famous musician observed, "You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man."

The human heart was created for something deeper than earthly companionship. It was created for fellowship with God.

Loneliness, It's Now Like An Epidemic

Studies continue to show that loneliness is widespread. Millions live alone. Millions more feel alone even in crowded cities, busy workplaces, and full churches.

The problem is not merely the absence of people.

The deepest loneliness is the absence of communion with God.

People need people. But even more, people need the Lord.

The Psalmist cried:

"I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert... I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop."

Psalm 102:6-7

Many know exactly how that feels.

Forgotten.

Overlooked.

Invisible.

Shelved.

Set aside.

A gray head in a crowd.

But what feels unseen to the world is never unseen to Christ.

The Man Nobody Noticed

In John 5, Jesus entered Jerusalem and came to the Pool of Bethesda.

Around that pool sat a congregation of suffering humanity.

Blind eyes.

Broken bodies.

Crippled limbs.

Hopeless hearts.

Among them was a man who had been disabled for thirty-eight years.

Thirty-eight years of disappointment.

Thirty-eight years of watching others go ahead.

Thirty-eight years of excuses, limitations, and loneliness.

Yet when Jesus entered the scene, He saw him.

John records:

"When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time..."

John 5:6

Everyone else saw a problem.

Jesus saw a person.

Everyone else saw a hopeless case.

Jesus saw a soul.

This lonely man may have felt forgotten by everyone, but he was not forgotten by God.

Jesus knew his history.

Jesus knew his pain.

Jesus knew his disappointments.

Jesus knew his name.

And Jesus knows yours.

The Question That Changes Everything

Jesus asked him:

"Do you want to be made well?"

John 5:6

At first glance, it seems like a strange question.

Of course he wanted healing.

Or did he?

Jesus was probing deeper.

He was asking:

"Are you ready for change?"

"Are you willing to trust Me?"

"Will you put your life in My hands?"

Many people want different circumstances.

Few want a surrendered life.

This man began explaining why he couldn't change.

He had reasons.

He had obstacles.

He had excuses.

He had no helper.

But Jesus did not ask for explanations.

Jesus gave a command.

"Rise, take up your bed, and walk."

John 5:8

The impossible became possible because Christ spoke.

The same Savior who commanded a crippled man to walk can command a lonely soul to hope again.

What's The Root of Human Loneliness? 

Loneliness did not begin at Bethesda.

It began in Eden. Sin, estrangement from God the Father.

When humanity rebelled against God, fellowship was broken.

Sin entered the world.

Death entered the world.

Separation entered the world.

Romans 5:12 teaches that sin entered through one man, and death through sin.

The deepest ache of the human soul is separation from its Creator.

That is why success cannot cure loneliness.

Money cannot cure loneliness.

Romance cannot cure loneliness.

Religion cannot cure loneliness.

Only reconciliation with God can.

As Augustine famously wrote:

"You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You."

The Loneliest Moment in History

Jesus understood loneliness better than anyone.

He was rejected by His own people.

Misunderstood by many.

Abandoned by His disciples.

Betrayed by a friend.

Despised and rejected by men.

Isaiah 53:3 calls Him:

"A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

Then came the cross.

There, Jesus endured the greatest loneliness ever experienced.

Bearing our sin, He cried:

"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Matthew 27:46

No one has ever entered such depths.

He bore our judgment.

He carried our guilt.

He endured our punishment.

He entered the darkness so that those who trust Him would never be abandoned by God.

The One who was forsaken makes it possible for sinners to be forever accepted.

Jesus Still Sees You. He Cares & Shares

The same Jesus who stopped beside a forgotten man at Bethesda still notices lonely people today.

He sees the widow.

He sees the single adult.

He sees the hurting husband.

He sees the abandoned wife.

He sees the discouraged believer.

He sees the weary saint sitting quietly in the back row.

Others may overlook you.

Christ does not.

Others may forget.

Christ remembers.

Others may pass by.

Christ stops.

The hymn writer was right:

"What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear."

A Real Walk with God

G. K. Chesterton wisely observed:

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried."

Many have sampled religion.

Far fewer have genuinely surrendered to Christ.

A car without fuel will not run.

A room without light remains dark.

Likewise, a soul without Christ remains empty.

Jesus offers more than religious activity.

He offers Himself.

Forgiveness.

Peace.

Purpose.

Hope.

Friendship.

Eternal life.

Perhaps you identify with the man at Bethesda.

You have waited.

Struggled.

Hurt.

Wondered if anyone notices.

The message of John 5 is simple:

Jesus sees you.

Jesus knows you.

Jesus loves you.

Jesus calls you.

And Jesus is able to do what you cannot do for yourself.

The world offers distractions.

Christ offers transformation.

The world offers temporary relief.

Christ offers eternal life.

The world says, "Try harder."

Jesus says, "Come to Me."

And those who come to Him discover that they are never truly alone.

"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Hebrews 13:5

The Savior who walked through Bethesda still walks among His people today.

And wherever Jesus is present, loneliness does not have the final word.

Need some Scriptures on this? 

• Psalm 68:6 — "God sets the solitary in families."
• Deuteronomy 31:8 — "He will not leave you nor forsake you."
• Isaiah 41:10 — "Fear not, for I am with you."
• John 14:18 — "I will not leave you comfortless."
• Matthew 28:20 — "I am with you always."
• 2 Timothy 4:16-17 — Even when all forsook him, Paul testified, "the Lord stood with me."
• Psalm 27:10 — "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up."

"No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There's no other friend so kind as He."

That is not sentimental poetry. It is the testimony of countless believers across the centuries who discovered that when earthly supports failed, Christ remained.

This lady felt really lonely, so she went to the pet store and bought a talking parrot but then came back because she said it didn't talk. The man said did you buy it a mirror? She said no and bought a mirror and disappeared for another week but then returned and said it doesn't talk. And he said did you buy it a ladder? If you buy the lateral for sure talk.. It didn't so so she returned and he said well you have to buy it a swing and then they love to talk.. She did and returned 4 days later and said my parrot died. The man at the store said did it ever talk to you? She said yes it finally did. He said what did the parrot say? The parrot asked. Don't they have any bird food down there at the pet store?

Selena Gomez said that her "deepest fear was of being lonely and alone forever"
Even though now she appreciates sometime alone to recharge.

Freddie Mercury The lead vocalist for the band Queen said, "You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man" in the 1985 book Rock on Freddie.

Mercury mentioned loneliness in a few interviews, He disliked being alone (like in his garden on occasion) and he rarely spent time by himself.

A recent Pew Research Center study with data said: around 30% of the US adult population is considered single, meaning they are not married, living with a partner, or in a committed relationship.

And many of those people are lonely.

How do you feel? Loneliness, lonesome, forgotten, neglected, set aside like a failure and shelved, now confined, lonely, insignificant, overlooked, invisible gray head, involuntarily cloistered in obscurity, in your own cloister-convent or monastery. Lots of people feel this way.

We don't go to church looking to people to love us like they owe us anything, we go there to praise and worship the Lord to fellowship with the common believers and give love away to God and his people.

Was Jesus ever a lonely man while here?

Jesus was drawn to lonely people. And with the man at the Pool of Bethesda, we see just what he had to say to them. Dive further into their interaction we see in John 5 now.

John 5:1–18

One in three Americans feel lonely at least once a week.

People need people.

Read John 5:1–18

This moment marks a turning point in the life and ministry of Jesus.
The religious leaders tolerated Him, but now they openly turn against Him.

Jesus spoke of the Almighty as His Father.
John 5:17

Jesus acted according to a plan and a purpose.

This lonely man may have felt unseen, but he was seen by Jesus.

Jesus was drawn to lonely people.

The man sat by the pool of water hoping for a miracle.

Jesus didn’t preach to everyone, nor did He heal everyone.

Disease and death were never a part of God’s original plan.

Romans 5:12

Sometimes we fall ill because of our own personal sin.
1 Corinthians 11:30

Sometimes God wants to heal us. He is just waiting for us to ask!
James 4:2

The utter helplessness of this man may have drawn Jesus to him.

You may be able to identify with this lonely man.

Sitting by the pool of Bethesda was a sad group of people.
John 5:3

Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time.
John 5:6

Jesus knew this man better than anyone else.

Jesus was asking this man,” Do you want to change your life?”

Are you willing to put yourself in the hands of Jesus?

God has a part and so do we.
John 5:7

Jesus asks the impossible.

Jesus removes all possibility of a relapse.

To be an effective follower of Jesus, make a clean break with the past.

Jesus expects continued success.

Jesus has not changed.

“..that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it… “
Philippians 1:6

“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and not tried!” —G. K. Chesterton

Jesus sees you.

The man's own best efforts can help him. He needed God.

And with the man at the Pool of Bethesda, we see just what he had to say to them. Dive further into their interaction we see in John 5 now.

One in three Americans feel lonely at least once a week.

People need The Lord and growing Christian people.

This moment marks a turning point in the life and ministry of Jesus.
The religious leaders tolerated Him, but now they openly turn against Him.

Jesus spoke of the Almighty as His Father.
John 5:17

Jesus acted according to a plan and a purpose.

This lonely man may have felt unseen, but he was seen by Jesus.

Jesus was drawn to lonely people.

The man sat by the pool of water hoping for a miracle.

Jesus didn’t preach to everyone, nor did He heal everyone.

Disease and death were never a part of God’s original plan.

Romans 5:12

Sometimes we fall ill because of our own personal sin.
1 Corinthians 11:30

Sometimes God wants to heal us. He is just waiting for us to ask!
James 4:2

The utter helplessness of this man may have drawn Jesus to him.

You may be able to identify with this lonely man.

Sitting by the pool of Bethesda was a sad group of people.
John 5:3

Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time.
John 5:6

Jesus knew this man better than anyone else.

Jesus was asking this man,” Do you want to change your life?”

Are you willing to put yourself in the hands of Jesus?

God has a part and so do we.
John 5:7

Jesus asks the impossible.

Jesus removes all possibility of a relapse.

To be an effective follower of Jesus, make a clean break with the past.

Jesus expects continued success.

Jesus sees and loves you. He has a good plan that you can know about and walk in.

It makes no sense to complain the car won’t start if it’s out of gas. It makes no sense to complain about sitting in the dark if we haven’t turned on the light switch.

Today, you can know God and have an assurance of your salvation. You can try a real walk with God instead of a fake religious experience. Jesus offers joy and contentment, and dispels loneliness and discouragement.

According to the Mayo Clinic, adults with strong social support minimize many health problems, including depression, high blood pressure, and unhealthy weight gain. So there go – more friends, less weight. But, in reality, we need connections in our lives. There's great blessing in having a friendship with Jesus. “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.”

For those suffering with Loneliness. There is Peace with God To Be Had, and The Peace of God.

Ps. 102:5-6
"I'm like a pelican of the wilderness, I'm like an owl of the desert. I watch and am as a sparrow, alone, upon the housetop".

I began to think and meditate a little bit. And I watched a bird. I don't know the name of that bird. It's a big bird and it has different colors. It may be a magpie, I'm not sure, but it certainly has a strange sound. And then the bird sat on a fence post and he sat there by himself. No mate came around.

Now, we have a lot of doves where I live, as you know, they mate for life. And they'll go around together. And they have friendship and fellowship. And produce little birds. But this bird today seemed to be all alone and I thought about this passage of scripture that's found in the 102nd Psalm, "I'm like a pelican in the wilderness, I'm like an owl in the desert. I watch and am as a sparrow, alone, upon the housetop".

Do you know, tonight, there are many lonely people here. Many single people in the city.

Way too many people feel lonely. One is too many.

And one of the supreme problems of modern society today is loneliness.

The modern city is a lonely place. I heard that here in America, seventy percent more people are living alone in one person dwellings than ten years ago.

A New York psychiatrist was quoted the other day as saying, "New York City is the loneliest place in the world for millions".

What would you say about Denver, or the town you come from? An American university study reported that university students are the loneliest people in the United States, followed by divorced people.

Are you lonely? One of the principal causes of loneliness is alcoholism and drug use. Alcohol and drugs are efforts to escape loneliness. Drugs take you on a trip and being drunk makes you feel that you've got somebody with you. On the other hand, going with Christ is a trip in which you really, always have Jesus with you as your Lord and companion. You cannot drink your way out of loneliness. Most young people turn to drugs for kicks and get hooked, or peer pressure. But thousands turn to drugs because of loneliness.

A magazine cover story recently had our neglected youth. It said that actually most of them are properly clothed and fed, but something is missing in the lives of millions. It's a neglect of the spirit, the article said, which leaves them lonely and prone to drugs and alcohol. But all too often, leads to suicide. What can be done about it? One of the key words in the Bible is communion from which we get our word, communication. Jesus came to a man one time that was lonely and sick and paralyzed. Thirty-eight years he'd sat in the same spot. Lonely and tired, without a friend and Jesus looked at him and said, "Do you need a friend"? And he said, "Yes". This bundle of loneliness and human pain had been buffeted by the surging tides of thousands of people. But Jesus singled him out. He became his friend that day and he healed him.

He can become your friend here and now, if you'll let him. Loneliness began, actually, in the Garden of Eden. In a perfect paradise. When man and woman declared their independence of God. They said, "We don't need you, God, we can build this world without you". So they made a terrible choice. They chose to turn away from God. They went their own way. Tried to build their world and sin entered at that beautiful garden. And it was given to the next generation, the next generation, the next, the next, down to you and me. And we all have the disease and it's a fatal disease. Nobody ever escapes the judgment of the disease of sin.

So the roots of loneliness were planted in the human soul and it has been inherited by every inhabitant ever. Because you see, in that garden God went looking for Adam. He knew where he was. But he went looking for him. He wanted Adam to know where he was. He said, "Adam, where are you"? And Adam tried to hide. Got some fig leaves and sewed them on. He didn't know he was naked till then. But he couldn't hide. Loneliness has never been a respecter of persons. The world's greatest artists, writers and composers, kings and queens and carpenters and plumbers and everybody, have felt this terrible thing called loneliness.

In John 13 it tells about the last supper. And it tells about the betrayal of Judas. And the scripture says, "He went out and it was night". No one ever went away from Jesus but what it was night. Perhaps there was a time that you knew the fellowship of God's people and you had peace with God. But you've backslidden, you've gone away, you've turned away. You've fallen aside. There was a time when you knew Christ, you felt you knew him. There was a time when you felt you meant business with God. But now your heart has grown cold and hard towards spiritual things. You've been pulled away by others, and other things and other gods and other pleasures that you know to be wrong. And you went out from the presence of God and you have found that it's night out there. You don't have fellowship with true believers and you don't feel really feel at home in the world you're living in. And certainly you no longer have fellowship with Christ.

And there is no loneliness quite so bitter as the loneliness of a backslidden Christian who claims with his mouth that he knows Christ, but deep in his heart he knows he doesn't. How many of you are straddling the fence, trying to put one foot in God's kingdom and one foot in the world's kingdom? Sin makes us lonely because it separates us from God. And it was never in God's intention for you to be lonely. Hundreds of surveys prove that our society has not made us a better adjusted or happier society. Oh yes, we can have fleeting moments of sensual satisfaction. Creates a bitterness and a loss of sense of pleasure that no psychiatrist can cure. The Bible says that "The wicked are like a troubled sea when it cannot rest. Whose water casts up mire and dirt".

Remember the story of Jesus with the woman at the well? She was a lonely woman. She had several husbands. Had had several husbands, no satisfaction, no peace, no joy. Jesus came and talked to her, forgave her her sins, transformed her life, made her a new person. She went into the village of Sychar and told all the people that here was someone that knows all about you. Come and see him. And they all went out to see Jesus. The Bible says, "He's despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief". Even though great crowds surrounded him at times, he was alone. Even at the end the scripture says, all the disciples forsook him and fled. The crowds who shouted one day, "Hosanna"! That same week, five days later, they were crucifying him.

And at last, we hear from the cross. Jesus, on the cross, dying for you and for me. God laid on him all of our sins and our judgment and our hell, which he took on that cross. He says, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me"? In that terrible moment, something mysterious happened. No theologian can explain it. Jesus took your sins, your judgment, your hell. All the penalty that I deserve for my sins, he took on that cross, and it was a lonely moment. A lonely period when he alone had to bear the cross. And he became guilty of all the sins of the whole world! He experienced ultimate loneliness as he died for you and died for me.

I've never understood how a person can turn away from Jesus when they actually see him on that cross, dying for you, and to reject him, to turn away when he offers you forgiveness, he offers you a new life. He offers you peace and joy and friendship. Never to be lonely again. Through his death Christ dealt with the primary cause of human loneliness. Separation from God. Because hell, essentially, is separation from God. Hell is the loneliest place in the universe. Jesus suffered its agonies for you. Jesus was lonely for you.

I remember when my grandmother died I had the privilege of being there at that time. She sat up in bed with a smile and a glow on her face. Her husband had been wounded at Gettysburg. Lost an eye, lost a leg at Gettysburg. And she sat up and said, "I see Ben," her husband. Who had died some years earlier. And she said, "Oh, the music is so beautiful"! And then she fell back on the pillow out in eternity. I remember when my mother was dying a relatively short time ago. And all the wonderful sayings that she left behind on her death bed because she just lived only for the Lord. She had a joy and a peace.

You never went into her room that you didn't come out and feel that she was ministering to you. You didn't minister to her. And even when she was in a coma, she woke up one night and quoted scripture. And the nurse said she never saw such a look on anybody's face. And fell back into her coma and went into eternity. There's a great difference, even in the last hour, between those who know Christ and those who don't know him. Then there's the loneliness of your decision. Because, you see, Christ died for you, he rose again, he's living. He wants to come into your heart. He offers you forgiveness and salvation and assurance and peace and joy. And he offers you a tough life. I'm not going to play games with you and tell you that it's easy to follow Christ. It's not. He said if you're not willing to deny self and take up a cross and follow me, you can't be my disciple.

Now the cross was a place where they executed criminals. It would be like today he'd say, "Take up the electric chair, and follow me". He said, I'm going to suffer, I'm going to die. And he said, "If you follow me," he said, "You're going to have troubles and difficulties and problems and persecution and maybe death"! Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to go all the way with me to the cross? Oh yes, in the midst of it there'll be his peace and his joy and his friendship and his forgiveness and his promise and the hope that he offers for the future. But there will also be the possibility of persecution and suffering and problems that you never dreamed of when you come to Christ.

We've been in those parts of the world where people suffer because they come to Christ. You must make the decision about Christ yourself. Our reaction to loneliness is often to deal with the symptoms rather than the cause. We get involved in pleasures, parties, good times, sex. We get involved in our work. We throw ourselves into the social whirl at the school. We read one of the best selling books which urges us to take control of our lives. Any we attempt to deal with sin without conversion is like struggling in quicksand. And how many young people today and older people are struggling in quicksand? Trying to save yourself, but you can't! You've come to the end of your rope. Turn your life over to Christ. Let him bear your burdens. Help you solve your problems. Help direct and lead you in your life.

How many young people here tonight do not really know what you want to do with your life? Or help you in your marriage. Who you ought to marry. There's a lady talked to me tonight who said she's just waiting for the right man to come along. And there are many like that. Be sure it's God's man or God's woman. I remember I took my three daughters aside when they were, oh, they couldn't have been more than eight, nine or ten years of age. And I said, "Let's stop here in the mountain and pray for your husbands who you're going to marry. They're boys somewhere. And let's just pray that God will lead them and lead you and that they will be men of God". Well they looked at me as though their dad had gone crazy. But we prayed and they got the right men too! One of them's here tonight. And we prayed the same way for our sons.

For the first time in many, several years, at least both of my sons are here tonight. I don't know where they are, but they're here somewhere. But you have to make this decision alone. If we search for an antidote to loneliness in drugs and alcohol and sex and encounter groups and psychological experiences often it only serves to mire us deeper in despair, without a remedy. Through Jesus Christ we can have the most fundamental relationship in life restored. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me". The Psalmist that wrote that about the pelican and the owl, said, "Oh my soul, why be so gloomy and discouraged? Trust in God! I shall again praise him for his wondrous help. He will make me smile again for he is my God". Loneliness is often God's way of letting us know it is time to reach out, reach out to the cross. And you'll never be lonely again.

A couple of weeks ago I received a letter which said, quote, "About a month ago, my wife and I separated. She moved out of our house saying that she could not stand to be around me anymore. We'd gotten to a point where we could not communicate with each other anymore. We were throwing accusations, some founded and some not and bitter, spiteful words at each other. So she moved out and went to live with another man until she could get an apartment of her own. On June the eighth, this year, I had come home from work, and after dinner, I felt a compulsion to turn on the tube. I attributed it to the loneliness and frustration I was feeling. Sometimes the tube can be an excellent fire escape for a short while, but it's not a good fire extinguisher," he said.

"Anyway, I wanted to change the direction. I hesitated, but then I did come to Jesus."

Another one. Last night, I preached on John 3:16 and the people here said it all together. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life". And last night more than seventeen hundred people came and made their commitment to Christ. A few weeks ago. No, no... A few weeks ago in one of our crusades, a man looked at that same verse, and the counselor told him you can put your name in that verse. You are the "whosoever". For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoso, and put your name there. Whosoever believeth or committed his life to him will never perish but have everlasting life. Then he had a grin on his face and he said "I like that".

You can put your name tonight in that same way as all of those did last night. God so loved the world, for you, that he gave his son and you put your name and say, "Lord, I open my heart and my life to you. I commit myself to you". For some of you, it may be that you are going to recommit your life. For others, you're going to make a brand new start. You want to be sure how you stand before God tonight. I'm going to ask you to do what we saw those people do last night and we've seen people in every continent of the world do.

In more than three score countries, we've seen people do what I'm asking you to do. I'm going to ask you to get out of your seats, hundreds of you. And say tonight, "I want to serve Christ, I want to follow Christ. I want to receive Christ. I want to come to the cross. I want to put my confidence and my trust in him. I want my sins forgiven. I want to know I'm going to heaven. I want to be sure that Christ lives in my heart". And after you've all come, I'm going to say a word to you and have a prayer with you.

Billy Graham was asked, Why do you ask people to come forward publicly"? He responded: Because, Jesus, every person Jesus called, he called publicly.

And he said, "If you're not willing to acknowledge me before men I'll not acknowledge you before my Father, which is in heaven". There's something about coming forward publicly and taking a stand in public that makes it count. I'm going to ask you, if you come from that gallery up on top, it's going to take you two or three minutes, so start now. And I'm going to ask that no one leave the stadium, please.

This is the holy moment and God is speaking to you, wherever you are. And if you're with friends or relatives, they'll wait on you. If you've come in a bus, they'll wait on you. And after you've all come, I'll say a word to you, have a prayer with you, give you some literature to help you in your Christian life. Or you can bring your friend with you, but just get up and come, quickly, hundreds of you. Back over here, over there, upstairs. You may be in the choir and God has spoken to you even though you're in the choir. You may be a Sunday school teacher, you may be a leader in your church, but God has spoken to you about your need of Christ. You get up and come. Over here on the ends, everywhere, quickly.

This lady felt lonely, so she went to the pet store and bought a talking parrot but then came back because she said it didn't talk. The man said did you buy it a mirror? She said no and bought a mirror and disappeared for another week but then returned and said it doesn't talk. And he said did you buy it a ladder? If you buy the lateral for sure talk.. It didn't so so she returned and he said well you have to buy it a swing and then they love to talk.. She did and returned 4 days later and said my parrot died. The man at the store said did it ever talk to you? She said yes it finally did. He said what did the parrot say? The parrot asked. Don't they have any bird food down there at the pet store?

Selena Gomez said that her "deepest fear was of being lonely and alone forever"

Even though now she appreciates some time alone to recharge.

Freddie Mercury, the lead vocalist for the band Queen said, "You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man" in the 1985 book Rock on Freddie.

Mercury mentioned loneliness in a few interviews. He really disliked being alone (like out in his garden on occasion) and he rarely spent time by himself.

Jesus and the Lonely Man or Woman.

Is that you? Jesus was drawn to lonely people. He can minister to you and satisfy. Remember the man at the Pool of Bethesda, we see just what Jesus had to say. Dive further into their interaction. Go check it out in John 5. KnowGod.org

IN HIS OWN TIME, NOT MINE.

"The nations fall into the pitfalls they have dug for others; the trap they set has snapped on them. The Lord is famous for the way He punishes the wicked in their own snares!" (Psalm 9:15,16 TLB) 

I say.. Go for it, Lord, and deliver Your fitting, swift, sweet justice, protecting the citizens even in the Western countries! Have your way, do your own thing and we will praise You. In Jesus' name. 

 Again slowly, "And, now, O Lord, have mercy on me; see how I suffer at the hands of those who hate me. Lord, snatch me back from the jaws of death. Save me, so that I can praise you publicly before all the people at Jerusalem's gates and rejoice that you have rescued me. The nations fall into the pitfalls they have dug for others; the trap they set has snapped on them. The Lord is famous for the way he punishes the wicked in their own snares!" (Psalm 9:13-16) 

Have you ever looked at a beautiful orchid and watched it slowly, O so slowly, blossom day after day? Have you ever tried to help it open up? 

Listen, if you try, you might ruin it. God makes everything beautiful in His time. 

My wife Liney has been nurturing some orchids.. yeah, just sticks for 4 months now, and they're now just slowly day after day (just 4 flowers) starting to blossom. 

She's actually getting good at it (she's been good with all other plants). I don't have what's called a green thumb, but all the trees I've planted here are doing well. Grateful!

He (God) causes everything to straighten out and line up according to His own schedule and will. 

May I encourage and challenge you some? 

If you have a problem in your life with a mean person or a tough circumstance, just pray and rely on God to resolve it all. "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord" (Rom 12:19). 

One of the worst things we can do is to take judgment into our own hands. 

Sure, we can evaluate with His wisdom and should. Please do. Sure, we should be fruit inspectors (starting at home in these two shoes), and stick with the facts, but not be judgmental with others. 

The Lord knows where each one will eventually go, and he alone casts the final judgment. That's what "Judge not lest you be judged" means (with this favorite verse to quote of lost people in this era). 

You want to make your reservations in advance right!? We never want to hear "Depart from me.."

What did Jesus mean when He said, “I never knew you. Depart from Me?

What!?.. judge not lest you be judged (Matthew 7:1)?

Why will not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” be saved?

What are some Bible verses about mercy?

Yo Bro, what's the meaning on, “Do not judge”?

Need some more verses about judging?

What does the Bible say about when God will judge us?

Judgment begins at the house of God.

What does the Bible teach about Jesus as judge?

What are the specifics that happen at the final judgment?

What is the judgment seat of Christ?..it's dif cuz it's for believers.

What happens right after the last breath in death?

How was the flood in the time of Noah just (and those violent days are like today, huh)?

What is Judgment Day?

What does it means that mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13)?

Will there be a second chance for salvation after physical death? Uhh, nope.

What is the great white throne judgment?

What did Jesus mean when He said, "I never knew you. Depart.."?

IN HIS OWN SWEET TIME 

The psalmist basically teaches us, Let God be the judge, the jury, and the prosecuting attorney. He knows more about all this than you and I do. The psalmist assures us that, in His time, God will catch those who are doing wrong. The nations will fall into the pit they have made. Sinners who have laid nets in the pathway will indeed get caught in those nets. "The wicked is snared in the work of his (or her) own hands" (vs 16) #emph.mine

"The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others. Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set. The LORD is known by His acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their own hands."
— Psalm 9:15-16

There is a holy pattern woven throughout Scripture: those who scheme against God and others often become trapped by their own devices. Pharaoh drowned in the sea he pursued Israel through. Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai. Daniel's accusers were thrown into the very lions' den they intended for him. God's justice is never confused, never late, and never unjust.

King David cried:

"O LORD, have mercy on me. Consider my trouble from those who hate me.. that I may tell of all Your praise."
(Psalm 9:13-14)

Like David, we sometimes long for God to act immediately. We see evil prosper. We watch injustice flourish. We wonder why the Lord seems silent. 

There's a time when we need to just jump in there and wisely protect people when we can. Our world today is filled with too many passive onlookers who pull out their phones when they need to simply rescue. There's a time for filming a crime in progress when you can pull someone to safety.  

Yet God is never passive, lazy, or inactive. He is never pacing heaven all frusterated, wringing His hands. He is ruling without rival.

Q: Have you ever watched a rosebud slowly unfold? Day after day, petal by petal, it opens according to the Creator's design. Try forcing it open, and you destroy the very beauty you hoped to accelerate.

My wife Liney recently nurtured several orchids for months. At first they looked like little more than sticks. Then, almost imperceptibly, tiny buds appeared. Slowly, one blossom opened, then another. What seemed dormant was actually developing according to God's timetable.

So it is with God's providence.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time."
— Ecclesiastes 3:11

The Lord untangles knots we cannot untie. He aligns circumstances we cannot control. He sees motives we cannot see. He knows every hidden detail, every secret thought, every act of injustice, and every wound His children carry.

That is why Scripture says:

"Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord."
(Romans 12:19)

Christians are called to exercise discernment, not personal vengeance. We are to evaluate actions according to truth, not sit on God's throne as final judge. We can recognize evil without becoming consumed by bitterness. We can pursue justice without usurping God's authority.

God alone knows every fact.

God alone knows every motive.

God alone renders perfect judgment.

As A. W. Tozer wisely observed:

"God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work."

And Charles Spurgeon wrote:

"God is too good to be unkind and too wise to be mistaken."

When evil seems unchecked, remember: God's delays are not God's denials. His clock keeps perfect time.

The Judgments of God

The Bible reveals a God who is infinitely loving and perfectly just.

"Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne."
— Psalm 89:14

Scripture records several major judgments:

What Were Some Past Judgments?

• Adam and Eve expelled from Eden (Genesis 3)

• The worldwide Flood in Noah's day (Genesis 6-9)

• The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11)

• Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19)

• Egypt and the Ten Plagues (Exodus 7-12)

• Satan and the fallen angels were cast from their position of glory (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28; Revelation 12:4,9)

Present Judgments?

• Self-examination by believers (1 Corinthians 11:28. True repentance and saving faith needed?)

• God's loving discipline of His children (Hebrews 12:5-11)

Soon Coming Future Judgments?

• The Tribulation judgments (Revelation 6-16)

• The Judgment Seat of Christ for believers' rewards (2 Corinthians 5:10)

• The Sheep and Goat Judgment of the Nations (Matthew 25:31-46)

• The judgment of fallen angels (1 Corinthians 6:2-3; Jude 6)

• The Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15)

Nations and Individuals

God judges both nations and individuals, but not always in the same way..even though He's totally just. 

Throughout Scripture, nations experience temporal judgment within history. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Tyre, Nineveh, and Israel all faced consequences for collective rebellion, injustice, violence, idolatry, and national sin.

Individuals, however, ultimately stand before God personally.

"Each of us shall give account of himself to God."
— Romans 14:12

A nation may prosper temporarily while individuals within it suffer. Likewise, a nation may be judged while righteous believers within it are preserved, as Noah was in the Flood, Lot in Sodom, and Daniel in Babylon.

God sees both the forest and every individual tree.

Will Christians Really Judge Angels?

Paul wrote:

"Do you not know that we shall judge angels?"
(1 Corinthians 6:3)

The exact details are not fully explained. Most evangelical scholars understand this to refer to redeemed believers participating with Christ in the future judgment of fallen angels.

God has already pronounced judgment upon Satan and his rebellious hosts. Their final sentencing awaits the appointed day.

Jude says certain fallen angels are already:

"kept in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day."
(Jude 6)

The One who cast them down will also complete His judgment of them.

When evil appears victorious, remember Psalm 9.

The trap-setter is not always the winner.

The schemer is not always the victor.

The oppressor is not always the one who gets the final word.

God does.

The Judge of all the earth will do right.

The Lord sees every tear, every betrayal, every injustice, every hidden act of righteousness, and every faithful saint who wonders when deliverance will come.

Wait on Him.

Trust Him.

Obey Him.

Praise Him before the answer arrives from Christ.

For in His own perfect time, God has a way of turning the enemy's snare into the enemy's downfall and transforming His people's trials into testimonies.

"He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice."
— Deuteronomy 32:4

And because Christ bore judgment at the cross for all who believe, the Christian can rest in this glorious promise:

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
(Romans 8:1)

Justice belongs to God.

Mercy is found in Christ.

And both meet perfectly at the cross.

"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face." ~ William Cowper hymn

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)

The Bible's answer is clear: Yes. Always. He's totally just and fair. God has never not been. 

"All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You; they sing praise to Your name. Selah Come and see the works of God; how awesome are His deeds toward mankind. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot; there we rejoiced in Him. He rules forever by His power; His eyes watch the nations. Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah." Psalm 66:4-6

"Here on earth, God's work must surely be our own." ~ John F. Kennedy 

We each choose. Every person is either walking in and led by the Spirit or is walking according to the desires of their fleshly nature.

"Your life will prove what leads you." ~ J.C. Ryle

It might sound kinda audacious, but it's so true.. "Only those with God's Spirit can understand spiritual truth. To others it seems foolish and makes no sense" (1Cor.2:14

We each'll choose. Every person is either walking in and led by the Spirit or they are walking according to the desires of their fleshly nature. Can't do both at once. @kurtWvS

"Your life will prove what leads you." ~ J.C. Ryle

"Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise."  ~ Sigmund Freud

"Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit" Proverbs 12:17 esv 

There is a hope for you that is not dead and buried. During perilous times, why look to your self-generated hope level when you can focus on the Source of lasting hope? #aLivingHopeChrist

What is the living hope in 1 Peter 1:3?

What is the Christian's lasting enduring hope?

What even.. is the definition of real hope?

Need some Bible verses about hope?

What does it mean to abound in hope (Romans 15:13)?

There's nothin' you can ask God for that is too big or too difficult for Him to pull off for His glory. But He wants you to look to Him to meet all your needs (not greeds), and simply ask in faith! He's a kind Father.

Man, whoever said you had to murder your brain to become a real believer? Hey Buckeroo, never do that!

"Faith is a response to evidence, not a rejoicing in the absence of evidence." ~ John Lennox, 2 Tim. 2:15

"The righteous is delivered out of trouble.."

Every fire I've ever encountered starts pretty small (I used to camp a lot), and every fire here eventually goes out, but in between those two facts are a whole lot of possible outcomes. KnowGod.org