Today’s devotional: never alone
In today’s Slice of Infinity devotional, Rachel Tulloch writes about the crushing power of loneliness—and the Christian belief that God is with us, no matter how dire the circumstances. But what does it mean to believe that God is present amidst something as horrible as a child’s death? Tulloch writes about an experience from her life:
In the face of tragedies like [the death of a friend’s child], we want to cry out against God for not fixing things, or at least to call out and demand answers—why? But this experience reminded me again of one of the beautiful truths of Christian faith. Because, although he knew pain and suffering, that sweet baby, unlike any other person I’ve ever met, never knew what it was like to be left alone. And, the Christmas season reminds us that although we do not understand the ‘what’ or the ‘why’ of all of our pain, we are not left alone either. Our God is like a father watching over his children, like a mother longing for their healing and bearing their pain as if it were her own. This God does not abandon us to our fate, but has come among us, to be one of us, to experience the very depths of our condition.
It is costly for God to be with us in this way, just as it was costly for my friends to be so close to the pain of their child. But when you love deeply, you want to be with the beloved, whatever the cost. And since we live in pain, brokenness and sin, God’s coming among us meant descending into the depths of that pain, brokenness and sin. Now, like that little one, we can be assured that we are never alone, that even when we do not understand the suffering in our lives, we do not bear it by ourselves. And even though my friends were unable to heal their child, this God promises ultimate healing and resurrection to all who will receive it. Like the angels announced, Jesus’s birth is good news of great joy for all people.
Read the full devotional at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
Have you struggled with loneliness amidst sorrow, and the question of God’s presence alongside you during a difficult time?
