Crucified with Christ – Lonely but not Alone (1-4)

How HARD is it to be lonely and alone, to be left to stand for what’s right, to be looked at like you are the weirdest alien that one has ever seen? Being lonely is difficult.  Being misunderstood is rough, but sometimes in the lonely times, we are able to hear the voice of our Savior call out to us.  To be Crucified with Christ, you will and must go through these periods.  So what does it mean to be Crucified with Christ?

1. Few will understand why you are or what you doing when you live a crucified life.

John 16:5-18 says” But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? ⁶ But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. ⁸ And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ Of sin, because they believe not on me; ¹⁰ Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; ¹¹ Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. ¹² I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. ¹³ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. ¹⁴ He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. ¹⁶ A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. ¹⁷ Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? ¹⁸ They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.”

The disciples were CLUELESS!!! They had no idea what Jesus’ plan was for the coming days. You will see this very evident in your life when you are living for Christ.  Many of those, who you must relate to everyday, will look at you like you’re a big weirdo.  They will not understand your motives and will be clueless about why you are doing it.  You might feel alone and misunderstood, especially since you are trying to do the right thing.

2. You must abandon your own will and agenda.

Matthew 26:36-46 – “³⁶ Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. ³⁷ And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. ³⁸ Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. ³⁹ And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. ⁴⁰ And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? ⁴¹ Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. ⁴² He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. ⁴³ And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

Jesus had to give up his will. “thy will be done.”

Once again, the disciples had no idea how important it was to pray for Jesus during this HUGE hour of trial. In fact, they fell asleep. Eventually Jesus just let them sleep and didn’t even try to explain it anymore

So how did Jesus overcome his will?  Hebrews 12:2 say “² Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. He looked to the future and to “the joy that was set before him”.   He knew that it might be painful now and might be lonely but he gave up His will for the will of His Father.  That was His joy.

How can we find solace in dying to ourselves? …knowing that God has a plan for our lives. 1Cor. 2:9-10 says “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.¹⁰ But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

 We all have a plan for our lives BUT did you know that God has a plan for your life as well?  What a comfort it is to know that God “hath prepared for those He loves”.   I can step out of the driver's seat and let God take the wheel.  Hey, that’s a smart idea. J

3. There are few that will walk with You!

Matthew 26:56 says “⁵ But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled”

ALL of the disciples fled.  He was left confronting this horrible situation with no support.  Have you ever been in that situation?  You were left with the dirty work.  Friend, there will be only a handful of Christians that will walk with you in your trials, especially your righteous trials, but just know that Jesus will never leave you or forsake you.  It will be HARD but He holds your hand. (Psalms 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”)

4. Intense times of aloneness with God are required.

Matthew 26:36-39 “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. ³⁷ And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. ³⁸ Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. ³⁹ And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt”

We see how Jesus prayed alone. We also see him in the wilderness fasting and praying.  He needed this spiritual strengthening, this alone time.  Friend, sometimes it just needs to be you and God alone, one-on-one.

In fact, sometimes, God withholds everyone-- just pulls you alone to Himself.  You may think, that you are lonely and no one cares, but this can be God, pulling away all your distractions because He wants your attention. Since moving to FL, all of my close friends (mom-friends, and couple-friends) have moved within about a year of me getting close to them.  I wonder if God knows that I would depend too much on them and wants my attention instead.  He wants just You and Him. In 1 Samuel 30:6, we see David “found strength in the Lord, His God.”   We need this!

So, Friend,  remember, you may feel alone, BUT you are NOT ALONE.  You may feel like you stick out and you may feel lonely, BUT God is there.  It’s not wrong to have friends but Jesus needs to be your ultimate friend.  You need Him today!