Lonely, Troubled, or Afflicted?

 

What to do when you are lonely, troubled, or afflicted.

 This sounds like David in Psalm 25. Listen to what he says in verses 16 through 18

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.

Even the best of God’s people gets lonely at times. David was afflicted, which means he was suffering. Perhaps he was ill or just his distress and loneliness was making him sick.

David had enemies that wanted to kill him. Not many of us have that kind of distress but many of us have people at work or school or neighbors who are so caustic that just the mention of their name causes our stomachs to churn.

David had troubles. He had troubles with King Saul. At one point he was the leader of a gang of raiders who were trying to survive in the wilderness. Try to make godly decisions with that bunch of people.

We have troubles and often they are a result of our sinful decisions. In all of these things we need to do as David did and ask the Lord to forgive our sins.

Finally, David says in verse 20:

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

If you are lonely, troubled, or afflicted, then turn to Jesus. Confess your sin and trust him for your salvation. Jesus said,

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

If you don't know Jesus, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to know Jesus for salvation and then you will be blessed according to the Bible.

 

Conspiracies of Christians

Too many Christians have been sucked into conspiracy theories and follow ungodly leaders. How should Christians deal with conspiracies?

John 7:1 sets the stage for dealing with them. It says, “After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.”

After many of his disciples left him, Jesus was very cautious about his exposure to the Jewish leaders who wanted to kill him. This wasn’t just a conspiracy theory and the irrational fears that come from that. They wanted to kill him because he had called God his Father, which was a clear claim to his own deity as recorded in John 5 verse 18.

When we come to conspiracies, we need to be cautious. Not everything is a conspiracy. God made it clear in Isiah 11:11-13 that we need to focus on him instead of groundless fears. He said, “For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: "Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.”

Falling for conspiracies happens when we are not walking with the Lord. It happens when we follow the way of people. It only causes needless fear. Instead of following the crowd (even when that crowd is other Christians), we need to focus on holiness and the fear of the Lord that comes when we understand that we are not holy.

To put it into perspective of the current environment, conspiracies are the realm of the far right and the far left. They belong to those with extreme positions. They ignore facts and claim that their “facts” are true even in the presence of evidence that proves the opposite. They will only listen to those who agree with them and fulfill Paul’s prophecy in 2 Timothy 4:3-4.

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

I call upon Christians who have been sucked into these conspiracies to repent of following worldly leaders who are only out to enrich and empower themselves claiming to look out for the good of the country. Remember that God is sovereign; he raises up our leaders and brings them down according to Daniel 2:21. Look for godly men instead of those who claim to look out for Christian ideals but don’t live them out themselves. 

If you don't know Jesus, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to know Jesus for salvation and then you will be blessed according to the Bible.