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isolation.

it’s one of the enemy’s greatest schemes on the believer.  put one in a situation where he or she is alone physically, spiritually, or emotionally, and you have the vulnerable beginnings of temptation, doubt, and fear.

i’m not sure when i first realized this phenomenon, but i have seen it take place in my life and in the lives of others.  if satan can make us feel alone, he can corner us, get us captive to our own thoughts and fears, deceive us with lies, and manipulate us.

in reality, of course, the believer is never alone.  the very Spirit of God lives within.  but the enemy can use our own feelings to war against us – that is why we can never fully rely on “feeling” God but trusting in His Word and its Truth over fickle feelings and emotions.  but satan sure can make us feel alone, like no one understands, like no one has ever gone through this, like there is no hope.

how twisted.  how evil.

enter Job.  an average, but righteous man, Job was deprived of his beloved family, land, occupation, and health, as the enemy sought to make him turn from God.  how alone Job must have felt.  his friends who came to offer advice for his predicament wound up accusing him of having done something wrong (get your act together, Job!), and his wife told him to curse God and die.  he was robbed of everything.  and Job had not the Spirit of God within as we believers do today.  he was very much isolated.

i love the story of Job because I think God has given it to us because no one has sunk so low that Job could not identify.  we read his story and see that we are not alone in our suffering, and that even in the most extreme of isolation, Job was able to WORSHIP and say,

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”   Job 1:21

how those words could fall off the lips in the midst of such extreme strife, i do not know.  but i do know what it is to trust the presence of God in despair and darkness, in times of anxiety and fear, temptation, doubt, and hopelessness.   it is a supernatural blessing to know that you are not alone, that our God has himself endured the most extreme of suffering through His Son, Jesus, and that He is sovereign over all.

the next time you find yourself in an isolated situation or season, remember Job and his example to worship God in the midst of hardship.

remember that if you know Jesus, you are never alone, as His Spirit lives inside you.

finally, be preemptive where you can, and avoid isolation.  self-pity, withdrawing to a shell, escaping through vices, keeping your fears to yourself–all of these can be points of entry for the devil to drag you down with deception.  that is why we are to exist in community.

community.  the opposite of isolation.  even God himself lives in a triune community.  this is why it is important to allow others to bear your burdens, to share openly with a prayer partner, to go to spiritual combat with brothers and sisters in Christ, to seek the counsel of advisors, and to have someone there to pick you up when you fall down.  community is also the foremost reason why it is imperative to be involved in a church.

no man is an island.  diffuse the enemy by engaging in community with fellow believers.

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