You Are Never Alone!

In his book entitled Alone, Admiral Richard Byrd tells the amazing story of how in 1934 he spent five months in a hut buried beneath the icecap of Ross Barrier on the continent of Antarctic. Byrd had been left to man the meteorological station, which measured 9 feet by 13 feet and was 8 feet high. With blizzards roaring overhead, along with a temperature that sometimes dropped to minus 82 degrees F, and being surrounded by unending darkness, Byrd found himself without any kind of human companionship. To make matters worse, the stove he was using to keep warm was not properly ventilated making the prospect of carbon monoxide poisoning a real possibility.

Byrd’s book reveals that there were times when he was completely knocked out cold because he was so overcome with fumes from the stove. He couldn’t eat, nor sleep, and became so feeble that he could hardly get up from his bed. Many times he even feared that he would not live until the morning. To top it off, the nearest rescue station was 123 miles away! What a situation to find oneself in! And yet, Richard Byrd survived! What saved his life? It was the knowledge that no matter what he faced, he was not alone in the universe. With true faith and deep confidence, he simply wrote in his diary, “I am not alone!” It was this realization that pulled him through, for in his darkest hour, Byrd turned to God for the strength that was needed to help him survive.

In Deuteronomy 31:6 the Lord spoke to Joshua these great words of assurance: “the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Likewise, Psalm 118:7 says, “The Lord is with me; he is my helper.” While none of us will likely ever have to go through the same kind of experience that Richard Byrd endured, there are times in all of our lives when we need to be reminded that no matter what we face, the Lord is always with us. We are never alone! While we may not always feel His presence, and times of difficulty may get worse before they get better, it is always comforting to know that in the midst of it all, the God who right now holds your life in His hand will remain with you no matter what.