Lies the Devil Told Me: All Alone

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Have you ever felt alone after some bad news or troubling thoughts? Have you ever felt that you were the only one going through the hardship? Have you ever felt immense pain, sadness, or worry and observed how everyone else is oblivious to your struggle? They seem to be going on about their lives in happiness while you struggle. It can make you feel all alone in that moment.

My wife and I were at one point being barraged by troubling thoughts, but unbeknownst to each other. I was fighting my own intrusive thoughts silently and she was dealing with hers silently, but we assumed the other was going on about their day in peace. She opened up to me that she was having intrusive thoughts and I told her that I was too and we were both having them at the exact same time. If we had not spoken to each other, we would not have known that we were both in the same boat.

You see a lie the devil has told me and many others is that we are all alone. No one else is struggling like we are. No one else has negative thoughts. No one else stumbles in their walk of faith. No one else sins. The evil one lies and says that it’s only you.

The evil goal is to make us withdraw from the Lord, the body of Christ, our friends, our family. When left alone with negative thoughts, then we get attacked without a support network to help us deter them. I have found that opening up about my struggles and negative thinking to those that I love has proven that my negative thoughts are almost always inaccurate and that others had experienced the same thing at some point or another. If we find that we are getting bombarded with dark, troubling, or intrusive thoughts, let us open up to someone we love and trust. Open up to a pastor or priest. Open up to a friend or family member. We will find that we are not alone in the struggle as all of us are in the same war, just maybe at a different place on the battlefield.

Always remember that the Lord is with us. We can turn to Him, confide in Him, place our trust in Him. He is our strength, our comforter, our refuge. Turn to the Lord.

Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”