Author: Nathaniel Colt

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Read: John 16:32–33

In today’s verses, Jesus was talking to His disciples about something that was about to happen. Jesus knew He was going to die. He also knew that, before His death, His friends would abandon Him because they were afraid. Even though Jesus experienced the heartbreak of His earthly friends leaving Him, He knew that God the Father was with Him. Jesus experienced being alone during a hard time. We can feel alone sometimes, too. However, Jesus didn’t end the conversation with being lonely. He told them that, they too, would face trials and heartbreak in this world, but not to worry because He had overcome the world.

Each of us will face times when we are lonely, and we will feel like everyone has forgotten us. We may feel like our friends have left us, or that our family doesn’t understand how we feel. However, Jesus promised that when we go to Him in these times of loneliness, we can find peace in Him. Through our darkest moments, we can turn to Him knowing that He will help us and carry us through. The difficult things we face are only temporary. He has overcome the world.

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Read: Romans 8:31–39

If you were working on an art project, you might take two different paint colors and combine them to make one new color. Or perhaps you might take two different colors of play dough and mash them together until they combine and make one color. When these things are combined, it would be impossible to ever separate them again into what they once were.

This is much like how God is with us. In this life, Christians will face times that are difficult, and we may feel lonely. However, God’s Word promises that, when we go through those times, we can be confident in the love that God has for us. Nothing, except our own desire, can ever separate us from His love. No matter what we face, we can remember that God is for us, and we can trust Him with every part of our life.

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Read: Psalm 139:1–10

Take in a long, deep breath. Think about the air that you breathe every day. As you inhale, air fills your lungs. Oxygen from the air is absorbed into your blood and moves through it to every part of your body. Did you know we can’t survive without oxygen? We can’t last long if we aren’t close to a supply of oxygen. Thankfully, we don’t usually have to travel far to find oxygen because the air around us is full of it. We simply have to breathe it in.

In the same way, God is always close to us. We can never escape from His Spirit. When we turn away from God and sin, the Holy Spirit brings conviction to turn us back to God. Wherever we go, whatever we’re doing, God is always there. We can always call on Him. There are times in our life when we may feel lonely, like everyone has left us or let us down. In those times, we can talk to God about how we’re feeling and know that He is just as close as our next breath is. Our Heavenly Father cares for us and loves us more than we can ever imagine.

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Read: Hebrews 4:14–16

In the Old Testament, the main role of the high priest was go to God on behalf of the people to offer sacrifices for the wrong choices they had made. Jesus came and died for our sins and then rose again. He is our high priest. When we give in to temptation, we can go to God, confess our sins, and receive forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross makes this possible.

The Bible says that we can approach God’s throne of grace boldly, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Jesus understands our weaknesses because He was tempted, and yet He never sinned. We are human and there will be times we don’t make the right choice. We’ll have to face the consequences of those choices. Even when we make the right choice, there may be challenges that we have to face. God wants us to honor Him by making the right choice, even if the right choice brings challenges (1 Samuel 15:22). But, we can always look to God for His mercy and His grace, and He will always be there to help us.

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Read: Matthew 6:13

Tug-of-war is a game that is played with a long rope with a knot in the center and two teams holding the rope on opposite sides of the knot. The goal is to pull the opposition to your side of the center line. It’s important that you don’t yield or let up, because doing that gives the opposing team a better opportunity to win.

Our life is like a game of tug-of-war. As we follow Jesus, our enemy, Satan, tries to pull us in the other direction. However, God is like an immovable anchor at the end of the rope. He can’t be moved. And as long as we are connected to Him, we can’t be moved either. He is the One who will give us the strength to resist temptation and make choices that honor Him.

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Read: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Have you ever seen a movie in which the main characters have to go through several puzzles to get out of the difficult situation? They may have to step on the right tiles to avoid spears being thrown at them. Or, they may find themselves in a room where all the walls are closing in. In the moment, it seems like there’s no way of escape. But then, right at the last second, they escape.

Many times this is how temptation feels. It can seem as if temptation is closing in to crush us and doing right can be extremely difficult. However, the Bible says that we can trust that God won’t let us be tempted beyond what we can handle. When we are tempted, He will always show us a way out. When we are having a difficult time making the right choice, we can call out to God and He can give us the strength to resist the temptation.

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Read: Psalm 119:11; Matthew 4:1–11

It’s always interesting to see celebrities and important leaders, like the president, doing normal, everyday things such as walking their dog or grabbing a hamburger at a fast-food restaurant. It’s easy for us to forget that they do regular things just like we do.

When Jesus came to earth, He was both God and human. Jesus experienced all the things that come with normal life including the temptation to do wrong things. In fact, the devil tried to tempt Jesus multiple times! Jesus never gave in to temptation. He overcame His desire to do wrong things by using the Word of God.

Like Jesus, we will face temptation because that’s part of living in this world. However, Jesus showed us how to make the right choice. When we fill our heart with the Word of God and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit, we can resist temptation and follow the plan that God has for us!

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Read: Philippians 1:27–30

Do you know how lions hunt other animals? Lions target animals that are separated from their herd, isolated and alone. The lions stalk their target, stealthily creeping closer until they are within striking distance. It’s important for herds to stay strong together to survive.

Satan, our enemy, would like us to feel as if we are going through something unique and there’s no one we can talk to. This is a trick, a lie to separate us from other believers who can provide support and encouragement. Even when we suffer, we can trust Jesus to always be there for us and to understand what we are facing. He knows how we feel because He, too, has suffered. When we share our struggles with other believers, they can encourage us, pray with us, and help us keep our focus on God. They can also tell us how God has helped them through something like what we’re facing.