Our culture does not favor people who are not part of the system. Those who are willing to stand alone, if necessary, for their convictions are rare indeed! When one feels alone, Satan would have you play the victim. He is a liar. Being willing to stand alone for the truth is a major character builder. It also makes us like Christ Himself.
Our Lord was left alone in the Garden of Gethsemane when the battle for our souls was at stake. The unbidden blood of lonely stress was the first shed for our souls. The prophet Isaiah saw this 700 years before it happened. Speaking of the cross, Isaiah shared this
“I have trodden the wine press alone and of the people there was none with me…” ~ Isaiah 63:3
Often Jesus would get alone…
“He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone…” ~ John 6:15
When He came away from that “aloneness,” He could walk on water and still storms.
Our culture loves conformity and fears non-conformity. One must go along with the “party line”. One must “go along to get along,” yet there are times when conformity — and even unity — must give way to convictions.
The Reformation exploded in Wittenberg, Germany when Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door and said, while standing alone, “Here I stand… God help me, I can do no other.”
Abraham was alone when God gave him the revelation of Isaac.
Moses was alone when a burning bush changed the destiny of a nation.
Jacob was alone when God wrestled him to submission and changed him to Israel.
Isaiah was alone when he saw a vision of God’s throne and received a world changing assignment.
David was alone when he sang the 23rd Psalm.
Jeremiah saw judgment while he said, “I sat alone because of your hand.” (Jeremiah 15:17)
Ezekiel “fell on his face alone” as God spoke to him.
Daniel spoke, “I, Daniel, alone saw the vision…” (Daniel 10:7-8)
John was alone on the Isle of Patmos when the Revelation was unfolded before him.
Standing alone for God means you’re never alone. He stands with those who are willing to stand alone.
Listen to St. Paul in 2 Timothy 4:16-17…
“At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me…
but the Lord stood with me.”
Sometimes standing alone moves you into the company of the Lord and the angels!
In the Academy Award winning movie on the life of Thomas Becket called “Becket,” there is a scene I will never forget. Becket had been King Henry II’s chancellor. With the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the King gave Becket that office as leader of the Church of England. For a season, Becket served in both offices. Eventually, he gave up the office as chancellor as his loyalty was now with the Lord and the church. Through tears, King Henry said to Becket, who had been his best friend for 15 years, “I shall learn to be alone.”
As a Baptist preacher, I thought I had many friends. Yet after the Spirit baptized me and I began to operate in all the gifts, those friends vanished. I learned to be alone. I would throw my heart around someone, help someone, and think, “Here is a friend I can call on.” However, as soon as standing with me became difficult, they would leave. I learned to be alone – but alone is not alone. For me, the by-products of standing alone include:
- Intimacy with God
- Power
- 37 books written
- Answered prayer
- Angelic manifestation
I can say for all the lonely days and nights, “The Lord stood with me!”
Pastor Ron
t the moment I was ready to tender my resignation from the ministry, God met me in a hotel room in New Mexico. Oh, blessed invasion! Oh, divine disruption! I had a literal and personal awakening in the long night of my despair! God spoke to me, baptized me, filled me, and called me to an authentic relationship with Him. From that new relationship would flow a new ministry, wild and free like a rushing river. This experience was not an end but the beginning of a fantastic quest for intimacy with Jesus. All my life I have been in hot pursuit of an intimate life dwelling together with God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Heart of Abba - Ron Phillips 