Abandoned.
That’s what being left behind is all about. Someone doesn’t want something and goes off without it.
Sometimes we can’t take something with us. The airline won’t ferry our pets to Hawaii, so we leave them with a friend or in a kennel. Or the baby grand piano won’t fit in the moving truck, and it remains for someone else to claim as theirs.
Can it be a good thing to be left behind? Titus 1:5 tells us:
“This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you―”
There are times we feel left behind. The church starts singing choruses, and we miss the old hymns. We lose a spouse, and we want to be in Heaven also. Christ richly meets us on our knees, and the following day we feel beat down once more.
We’re abandoned. There’s no other way to look at it. We don’t know where to turn.
John 14:26 says we are not left alone:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
God has a plan that isn’t finished, and we have a place in his design. The following three verses will help us find strength in Christ:
Strength Verse No. 1.
Ephesians 6:2-3 unmasks our new and improved attitude.
“Honor your father and mother… that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
This is about our parents, but it’s also about our attitude toward all people. If we care for others, we will be grounded in the love they return to us.
Strength Verse No. 2.
Romans 15:30 reveals our necessary priorities.
“I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.”
Our Christian walk is about caring for others. If we’re the only one that matters, then where is love in our life?
Strength Verse No. 3.
Acts 20:28 ensures we include all believers.
“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
We aren’t left behind, not in the sense of being abandoned. We’re given charge to care for the followers of Christ, to lead the nonbeliever to him with our love, and to make this world a better place than it was when we came on the scene.
When we have difficulty in feeling the presence of God, think back on Titus 1:5:
“This is why I left you in Crete…”
It’s when we’re in the world that we can work to better the world. The Holy Spirit is our helper. Our church family is our rock. Christ is our purpose.
When we’re busy doing God’s work, our worries about life will be crowded out the door.
Copyright © 2016 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.H.01.16b.vp.esv