Helen Kehn told of how all her life she had been sheltered and somewhat pampered by her family.  She was the youngest of five children.  She had never known what it was to be alone.  Her family was always together, did things together, worked together, played together, sang together, and worshiped together.

But she found herself at a time in life when her parents, her brother, and three sisters had all been taken from her, the last two dying exactly one month apart.  She suddenly found herself in an empty house.  She had never had a key, for there was always someone there to let her in.  Now there was no one.

For a few weeks a niece stayed with her.  But the time came when her niece had to leave.  Helen drove her to the station, drove back home, and sat in the driveway for a while dreading to go in.  Finally she steeled herself, and for the first time in her life she walked into the house all alone.  As she walked up the steps, she prayed, “O God, help me.”

The first thing she did when she got inside was to turn the radio on so there would be sound in those silent, empty rooms.  She walked to the wardrobe to hang up her coat, when over the radio she heard,

“No, never alone; no, never alone.
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone.”

It was the Old Fashion Revival Hour Quartet singing.  Helen said, “To me it was the very voice of God in answer to the cry of my heart.  I realized as never before that my Lord was there with me, and that I was never alone.  All my life I had depended on my family for companionship.  From that moment I learned to depend on Him.”

“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).

Denis Lyle wrote that he heard about a little old lady that was listening to her preacher preach on Hebrews 13:5.  The preacher noted that in the Greek text of Hebrews 13:5, the word translated “never” is a double negative.  Reflecting the double negative, the text could be translated: “I will not, I will not leave thee; I will not, I will not forsake thee.”  As the old lady left the auditorium, she shook the preacher’s hand and said, “God may have to tell you Greek scholars twice that He will never leave you, but He only has to tell me once.” *

Only sin can separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), and because of our sins, we all have been separated from Him (Romans 3:23).

But God loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to be separated from Him.  He gave His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16; 1 Peter 2:24).  Those who accept His offer of salvation and eternal life are reconciled to Him through Jesus, and He will never leave them alone.

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin and continue to abide with those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).  And when this life is over, He will gather His children into His presence for eternity.

“No, never alone; no, never alone.
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone.”

-- David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from a sermon by Denis Lyle entitled “The Giant of Loneliness” in www.sermons.pastorlife.com.

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

Archived issues of Living Water can be viewed and accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org