Being alone…truly alone, can be frightening. If you have not been there, you will. Alone can be in a foreign place, an experience you have never had, or even in a crowd. Alone is not an external experience, it’s internal. Alone is the fertile ground that the seeds of fear can grow into uncontrolled anxiety. Alone is when you are rolling down the hall into surgery…separation of a loved one…losing your job/business or _____. Alone can be paralyzing.

It’s interesting how the Holy Spirit retrieves memories for such a time as this. It was late one night driving home from Carlisle. I must have been 4 or 5 years old. Back then cars had bench seats, so I was able to lay my head in mother’s lap as dad drove us home. I remember her tenderly parting my hair as she sang, “I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses; And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses. And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.” That is the C. Austin Miles hymn, “In The Garden” from 1912.

When I stop and think about mother’s anthem song, I recognize how this song has lingered and shaped my relationship with Him, my Jesus. First, I am never alone, never. Second, we walk and talk together. Third, he knows & loves me, warts, and all. In a word, it’s PERSONAL.

Jesus came to His Garden alone that night. Even though Peter, James & John went with Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane, He went alone to be with His Father (Matthew 26;36-46, Luke 22:39-46). Just as Father God was with His Son Jesus…Jesus will meet you anywhere…anytime. You are not alone. It’s personal with Jesus.

But how? Different people will experience His Presence in different ways. I have a 3-Step process.

First, get away from the distractions. I Put my phone away and begin with prayer. I thank Him for being the Great God He is. I thank Him for all He has done. I pray His Attributes: Holy, Sovereign, All Knowing, All Present, Promise Keeper, Redeemer, Author of Love, Just, Merciful, Grace, the One who holds me in the palm of His Mighty Hand…

Then I ask Him to “show me His Ways, Teach me His Paths and Guide me in His Truth and Teach you (Psalm 25:4-5).

Then I open my Bible. Sometimes it’s Psalms, John or a more structed Bible reading but I let the Spirit guide me. Don’t be in a hurry.

Ask yourself, what’s this passage about?

What attributes of God (Sovereign, Holy, All Powerful, All Knowing…) do I recognize?

And how can I apply the passage to my life?

May you find comfort & strength in these 2 promises of Jesus:

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28