You Will Never Be Alone

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

 

Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.”

 

Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Every time I read these words, I smile.

 

This scripture means a lot to me. I grew up in church and became a lay leader before my junior year of high school. But during my senior year, I struggled a lot with my relationship with God. I was always stressed and I felt like no matter how hard I prayed about things, they would not come true. I felt lost and troubled. I knew God was there, but for some reason I kept pulling away.

 

Finally one day it hit me. When I felt like my prayers were not getting answered, it was because I was not listening. When I prayed, I had always felt like there was a voice telling me that everything would be okay, but I never felt reassured. Things would continue to get more stressful, but I had no clue what to do.

 

The day that I realized I had shut myself off from God, I realized that little voice had been God all along. He was always there. I needed to rely on Him to help me with my problems rather than blame Him. I got through my senior year realizing that I need to fully rely on God. This year has been rough adjusting to college, but I have relied on God and that has made all the difference.

 

When we choose to accept God into our hearts, He saves us from darkness no matter how much we run toward it. No matter where you are in your life right now, remember that God is always there to save us from the darkness. His light will guide your way.

Lord Jesus, thank you for always being there for me no matter how far I try to run from you. I pray that you help me to rely on you daily. Please help me to keep an open heart and open ears when you are trying to talk to me, Lord. Thank you for being there to keep me from darkness and always shining your light on me. Amen.

 

Rachel Beasley is a first- year student at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, studying elementary education. Her home church is Granite City Nameoki UMC.