Feeling Isolated

Psalm 142:4: "Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life."

This Psalm from David was written during a time when he was hiding out in a cave, trying to avoid the pursuits of King Saul. Saul perceived David a threat to his reign, and he was relentless in his attempts to kill the young man of Bethlehem.

David had just about reached the end of his rope. His spirit was "faint" as men attempted to ensnare him (and ultimately execute him)! The one thing that David did know was the importance of making his fretful case known to the Lord. It was not as if God was oblivious to David's situation; yet David knew that God desired him to bring his burdens to the Lord, acknowledging that God alone would be the source of deliverance from the misery of the hopeless situation.

The other thing noticeable from this Psalm was David's lack of support from others. When the times were really tough, the people scattered. This was even more reason for David to seek the Lord, for he knew that only the Sovereign One would be his Refuge during his time of desperate need.

By faith, David called for deliverance, and looked forward to giving God praise and worship for His answering David's prayer. Then David made a very keen observation. He noted that righteous people would surround him as he testified about the goodness of the Lord.

There is a great word for us. Many times when we are traversing certain "valleys of despair," we may find that few people are there to support us and encourage us. This may very well be because man is selfish by nature and apt to surround himself with people that bring some semblance of personal benefit. Conversely, true love is available to minister to others in all times, especially during those most difficult times that aren't pretty and certainly not going to bring any benefit. David acknowledged that he would have no problem with people surrounding him when the times of blessing would befall him. Even the righteous would gather around him as He praise the Lord for His hand of favor.

The things from this passage that we would do well to learn are the following:

1. When the times are very painful and difficult, we need to seek the Lord. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), even though others might turn their backs on us in our time of despair. And the Lord is waiting for us to put our faith and trust in Him, knowing and believing that He can bring deliverance to us.

2. Our struggles might bring alienation from others, who don't want to have to deal with the challenges that we might be facing. Especially during these times, we again must realize that only God is our Refuge. And it is to Him that we must find fellowship and support.

This is not to suggest that we should become cynical and reclusive and withdraw from the world, believing it to be a collective of egocentrics who only want to associate with us for their personal benefit. To be sure, we ourselves might have brought our isolation through our abrasive personalities or chronic perpetuation of sin in our lives (despite the words of admonition from others who want to see us gain victory over sin).

The one thing that we should be more conscious of is the need to minister to others and be a blessing to others in their time of need. This is the way we can demonstrate true, God-like love to them and share their burdens, making their journey a little less troublesome.