27 Sep In a Crowd Yet All Alone
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13 NKJV
Seven hundred and fifty women, and I was just one of the many. That familiar feeling crept from my stomach and into my head. “You don’t belong here,” it whispered. I looked around and saw hundreds of polished Patties who had their act together. I clearly, did not.
Whether in a packed arena or an intimate luncheon, the ‘feeling’ of not belonging snakes into my mind. And it really doesn’t matter how much time passes, it still happens.
Maybe you’ve been there, lost in a crowd. It’s at those very moments that we face a choice: To believe the ‘feeling’, or Announce the Truth.
Can I be honest? I don’t always make the right choice. If I allow that ‘feeling’ to set up camp in my brain, the photo album of secluded moments flips wildly through lonely times. And I sink.
Here’s what I’ve learned along the way. If I recognize ‘the moment’ for what it truly is, a lie, I can turn the channel. I announce, OUT LOUD the truth, “I am NEVER ALONE!”The whisper of ‘you don’t belong’ morphs into ‘you are sealed with Me’!
And if I lean into this Truth when I’m the most vulnerable, in a crowd of 750, God always illuminates another soul for me to notice. He whispers, “See her, she needs to know the Truth that she is not alone either.” It’s at that moment, when my view turns from inward to outward, and that sealed promise comes alive. Suddenly the impact of belonging overwhelms me and I must wrap up the lonely in this message.
Today, I felt alone in a crowd. He pressed in and reminded me that you’re feeling that way too. I’m choosing YOU today! I will not believe the whisper, instead I will Announce the Truth to me and to you. We are never alone, we’ve been sealed with a promise.
{{{ I’m cyber hugging you right now}}}
Listen to His whisper. A woman near you needs to know the Truth too.
In His grip,
Luann Prater