“Am I the only one?”
It’s incredibly easy to think that we are the only ones struggling to be faithful to Jesus in a difficult environment or circumstance. We watch people around us at work and in our community live differently and we feel ostracized for the way we live. We observe a secular culture, as loud voices from large platforms mock people of faith and operate based on values which run counter to the Scriptures.
Sure on Sundays, or when we attend a small group, we may feel that we aren’t alone. Those experiences are helpful, but they can be fleeting. We’re together for an hour or two, but then we return to the 160 plus hours a week we aren’t gathered with our church friends.
Isolation and loneliness take over and we feel like a lonely follower of Jesus, rather than one person among countless others who are seeking to live like Jesus as light in a dark world.
Erik Nieder’s recent song offers a reminder which we need when we begin to ask, “am I the only one? How can I make a difference?” He opens the song with a reminder of who we are.
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“We are the children of promise
We are the people of God
The Spirit alive in us
His Spirit alive in us”
Nieder reminds us that we are a “we.” In our hyper-individualistic, self-obsessesed culture, we tend to think about “I” and “me” more than than we think of “we” and “us.” Nieder sings that “we are the people of God.” Each “me” who puts their faith in Jesus is immediately welcomed into a “we.”
If that wasn’t significant enough, Nieder also reminds us to consider “The Spirit alive in us.” The Apostle Paul spoke about the weight of this reality in Romans 8, when he noted, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.” We must remember that “you” Paul wrote is a plural you. That verse could also read “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in y’all.” Now, that might sound like the New Texas Translation, but Paul was writing to the people of God when he declared that truth.
But Nieder isn’t done reminding us about who we are.
“We carry the light in the darkness
We carry the truth of the cross
Nothing can stand against
No nothing can stand against”
We do live in a dark world and in the middle of a challenging time. There are forces in this world which oppose followers of Jesus. In Ephesians 6, Paul reminds us about our true opposition. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Our enemies are not the men and women we see, but the spiritual forces we cannot see.
While it may seem overwhelming, we can have hope because Jesus has overcome every power that opposes us. In John 16:33, Jesus spoke words that encourage our hearts. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Nothing can stand against us because of who Jesus is and what He has done, not because of who we are in ourselves.
If you’ve felt alone as an individual who is trying to follow Jesus in a hard place or a hard time, then remember how God responded to Elijah in 1 Kings 19. Elijah had been prophesying faithfully to a nation which worshiped false gods, under the leadership of wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. On Mt. Sinai, Elijah cried out to God, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
God heard Elijah’s prayer and commissioned him with several concrete actions to take in obedience. At the end of his call to Elijah, God offered a powerful counter to the loneliness of Elijah. “Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”
Elijah felt that he was the only one, but little did he know there were thousands of others who were living faithfully in a faithless time.
Churches across the country are singing Erik Nieder’s song, "People of God," in their worship gatherings. Those moments are powerful and helpful. However, the next time you hear “People of God” on Air1 Radio, consider that you are one of millions who are listening to and singing that song. You are not just a person of faith; you are one of many within the people of God. Just as you are seeking to follow Jesus in a challenging time around difficult people, so are millions of others across our country and around our world.
His hope is alive in us. His Spirit is alive in us. Let’s rise up together and declare the Good News to a hurting and desperate world.
Scott Savage is a pastor and a writer with the best last name in the world. Scott’s writing helps you laugh, challenges you to think, and invites you to grow. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona. Scott is married to Dani, an award-winning attorney, and they are the parents of three growing savages. You can learn more about Scott’s newest resource, The Start-Over Guide, at scottsavagelive.com.
