Many years ago, when I was just a lad, I remember my grandfather laying on his hospital bed with a smile on his face.  I still remember his gray hair and the wrinkles that covered his cheeks.  In his final days, he didn’t speak much, but I remember the few words he said when my mother and I visited him.  He whispered; “I don’t get lonely; Jesus is here with me”.

Even as a small child at the time, I marveled at his proclamation.  His wife had passed away many years prior.  Nearing his ninetieth birthday, he seemed to be alone, barely able to move, and yet he was able to say that he wasn’t lonely.

My grandfather took Jesus’ words to His disciples literally, as we all should.  “Surely I AM with you always” (Matthew 28:20) He knew that Jesus was with him.  I am certain my grandfather was experiencing the reality of that promise.  He was with him as he lay on his bed, and he used him to share His truth with me – a young grandson who needed to hear those words and take them to heart.  Are you encouraged by the reality that Jesus is with you?  You must also ask yourself; “what kind of a relationship do I have with Jesus”.  Do you characterize your relationship with Him according to mood swings?  What is your delight in life?

There is a story of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.  During his eight years in Russian prison camps, his parents died, and his wife divorced him.  Shortly after his release from prison, he was diagnosed as dying of cancer.  It was at this point that he abandoned himself to God and wrote this prayer, a portion of which I share with you.  “You created a path for me despite my despair and sorrow”.  At the end of his life, he was no longer lonely.  He rejoiced that Jesus was there with him.  May those words take root in your life, and proudly proclaim “I am not lonely because Jesus is here.”