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‘God Only Knows—You’re Not Alone’

“God only knows what you’ve been through,

God only knows what they say about you,

God only knows the real you.

There’s a kind of love only God knows.”

“God Only Knows” by King and Country

As you all know, music plays a huge role in my life.

Music helps me celebrate my greatest joys and picks me up in my darkest moments. The song I quoted above definitely qualifies as a “pick-me-up song,” but also as a reminder of the wild, unrelenting love that God has for us. This strong struck me the first time I heard it.

Who hasn’t worried about her own self worth? Who hasn’t felt the sadness of being an outcast and not knowing where she fits in? Who hasn’t had dark patches and times when everything just seemed to be going wrong?

We’ve all been there — even though it doesn’t feel like it.

In this digital age, our lives are broadcast across the internet every waking moment and we are bombarded with information every moment with notifications popping up one after another. A recent article in the New York Times states that Americans are among the most stressed people in the world. According to the article, Americans report feeling stress, anger and worry at the highest levels in a decade.

These statistics are grim — and here we are, stuck in the middle of the facts and figures as we try to find our place in the world. However, whatever your mind is whispering to you in the darkest moments, you are not alone in your struggles. Other people are facing these issues, too, even though it might not seem like it.

Yet, we can also take comfort in these dark moments that God is there with us. He did not forsake us and he is speaking over the lies and the despair to tell you he knows and loves you.

He is the “God who sees me,” as Hagar says in Genesis 16:13. At that time, Hagar was running away from Sarai, Abram’s wife, who had dealt harshly with her and had fled into the wilderness to escape. However, even in the wilderness, an Angel of the Lord found her and proclaimed a message to her about her coming son, saying “…the Lord has listened to your affliction.”

In 1 Kings 19, the great prophet Elijah flees into the wilderness from a proclamation of death from Jezebel. The Lord sends an angel to attend to him and then later finds him in a cave. Elijah then pours out his heart to the Lord saying “I, even I only, am left and they seem my life to take it away,” in 1 Kings 19:10.

In 1 Kings 11-12, God tells Elijah to go out from the cave and onto the mountain to stand before the Lord. “And behold, the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.”

God himself found Elijah in the wilderness — in all his power and all his wonder — and whispered softly to him.

As the song says, God knows what you have been through, he knows what you are facing and he knows who you really are. He is seeking you out in the darkness or the wilderness.

Friends, if you are struggling, reach out for help. Get the help you need, be it a listening ear, visit a therapist or a group therapy session or consult your doctor. However, in all of this, remember you are not alone.

Whether he comes in the wind, the earthquake, the fire or a quiet whisper — God is there.

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