Were you ever invited to an event that you’d never been to before, where you felt a bit of trepidation? And in that situation, possibly you told your best friend, “If you go, then I’ll go. But if you don’t go, I won’t go.”
That is what Moses told his “friend” God when he and the Israelites were on their way to the Promised Land. They’d had quite a few rebellions during the journey, and the Lord told Moses that He would send an angel before them to guide the way, but that He Himself would not go with them. Moses reiterates his pledge to seek God’s ways, and the Lord promises, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Moses answers, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” He wasn’t going anywhere without God! (For the full story, see Exodus 33.)
What set apart the Hebrew people from the rest of the world of their day? They journeyed with God. And to this day, God is unflinching in His promise to His followers, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). He said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16).
God has promised to walk with you every day. Not only that, He dwells within Christ-followers, and has set up residence in your soul (John 14:23). How’s that for a cure for loneliness! He’ll stick with you through the good times and the bad times. You can tell Him all your secret longings and dreams, and rest assured that He will understand the deepest desires of your heart.
In this month’s issue we see that friendships can be cultivated when we are willing to step out of our private worlds and look to the needs of others. And we learn that Jesus longs to be our best friend, as is made clear in the feature article, “Never Alone,” on pages 4–6. The articles in this issue were selected to assist us in strengthening our relationship with God as well as helping us reach out to others, thus relieving our own loneliness while we do what we can to make the world a better place.—That’s a win-win situation.
May this month’s issue be a blessing to you!