Those esteemed by God will feel sorrow because they can feel how lonely and sad God is with the state of this world.
There is sorrow when we are esteemed by God and when we receive God’s grace.
(Daniel 10:2, 2 Peter 2:7–8, Psalm 119:136, 158)
There are sorrow, solitude and loneliness that come when we receive God’s grace. This is because when we are esteemed, God blesses us by letting us understand His will and the things that need to be done before the end time comes.
An example is Daniel, he fasted and covered himself with ashes in repentance when he came to understand the time that God had promised. He was in grief because he saw the state of his people’s faith, which was not ready for the time that God had set.
A life of faith was lonely for the people of God in the Bible. It’s because there was no one else that understood the heavenly things and God’s will and purpose.
It was the same with Jesus when He was in this world, especially in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus brought 3 disciples up to Mount Gethsemane but they slept. so Jesus had to carry all the sins of mankind, and face the legion of devils, His enemy by Himself. (Daniel 10:7, Romans 8:5–7)
Below are some men of God that were esteemed by God.
1. Noah’s solitude (Genesis 6:5–8)
Noah found favour in God’s eyes. He was esteemed and God tasked him to build the ark. How lonely Noah must have felt, it was him against the whole world.
2. Abraham’s solitude (Hebrews 11:8–10)
Same for Abraham, he had to bring Isaac to be sacrificed, but can’t tell anyone. And Isaac experienced such loneliness on the altar.
3. Jacob’s solitude (Genesis 28:11–12, 32:24)
Jacob experienced so much loneliness. He had to run away to
Laban’s house to escape Esau. When he was coming back to his homeland, he had to wrestle with God.
Only when we wrestle with God, do we come to understand it is God Himself.
4. Joseph’s solitude (Genesis 37:3-40)
Joseph was Jacob’s favourite son, but one day he was betrayed by his own brothers, sold into slavery and he became so lonely. He was also accused and thrown into jail.
5. Moses’ solitude (Exodus 3:1-2, 19:24, 34, Hebrews 11:25-26)
Moses led the Israelites but he also felt so lonely since the Israelites were not in the same frequency as him.
6. Elijah’s solitude (1 Kings 17, 18, 19:8-10)
Elijah was so lonely when he did God’s work, that he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
But God appeared to reassure him that He has reserved 7,000 whose knees had not bowed to Baal.
7. Jesus’ solitude
Matthew 8:20 (NASB95) — 20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
8. Apostle John’s solitude
Revelation 5:2–4 (NASB95) — 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. 4 Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;
Why the solitude? And what did they do?
The sorrow and the solitude that those who are esteemed by God experience are different from the solitude and loneliness of the world.
These are the sorrow and solitude that comes from the dire and desperate desire for God’s will to be fulfilled. These are griefs that come from the realisation of how wicked we are before God. They are from seeing how overwhelmingly hard it is for the heavenly will to be fulfilled in this physical world!
Such sorrow and solitude came because they met God. If it weren’t for God’s appearance and instructions, they would not have had such sorrow.
The sorrow and mourning come when we try to obey God’s Word. It’s not because we don’t want to do it, but because the world (sometimes including ourselves) disagrees with God’s work.
The people that we have considered above all experienced such hardship because they loved and sought to live with God’s Word. It’s because they embraced the heavenly treasure in them. That’s why it is overwhelming.
Such sorrow, mourning, and solitude will be solved only when God finally comes and fulfils His promise.
We rejoice and pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We want blessings. But it’s not that easy to receive it. It can be frustrating and challenging.
1. Noah continued on to finish building the ark.
2. Abraham did not give up his faith but continued on to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice Isaac.
3. Jacob held on all the way in the wrestle until God blessed him.
4. Joseph overcame the temptations and hopelessness, believing in God without faltering.
5. Moses followed God all the way.
6. Elijah ran the race even though he wanted to give up and die.
7. Jesus took the cross and forgave until He could say, “It is finished.”
8. Apostle John also did not give up, but ate the Little Book and prophesied again.
Result of obedience in their sorrow and solitude
1. Noah, who was lonely because the of ark, was saved through the ark.
2. Abraham received the blessing of Jehovah Jireh and became the father of faith.
3. Jacob received the blessing of Israel.
4. Joseph became the second in command in Egypt and became the type of Jesus Christ who saves his brothers, sharing the grace of forgiveness.
5. Moses led the people of God in the wilderness and became the representative of resurrection.
6. Elijah did not see death and became the representative of transfiguration.
7. Jesus fulfilled the work of redemption and salvation.
8. Apostle John ate the little book and understood the mysteries of the end time.
There are many others like Prophet Samuel, Daniel, David, and Apostle Paul who went through much suffering, solitude, sorrow, mourning, etc. for the will of God’s Word, but in the end, the will of God was fulfilled through them.
Those esteemed by God will feel sorrow because they can feel how lonely and sad God is with the state of this world.
There is sorrow when we are esteemed by God and when we receive God’s grace.
Daniel 10:2, 2 Peter 2:7–8, Psalm 119:136, 158
There are sorrow, solitude and loneliness that come when we receive God’s grace. This is because when we are esteemed, God blesses us by letting us understand His will and the things that need to be done before the end time comes.
An example is Daniel, he fasted and covered himself with ashes in repentance when he came to understand the time that God had promised. He was in grief because he saw the state of his people’s faith, which was not ready for the time that God had set.
A life of faith was lonely for the people of God in the Bible. It’s because there was no one else that understood the heavenly things and God’s will and purpose.
It was the same with Jesus when He was in this world, especially in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus brought 3 disciples up to Mount Gethsemane but they slept. so Jesus had to carry all the sins of mankind, and face the legion of devils, His enemy by Himself.
Daniel 10:7, Romans 8:5–7
Below are some men of God that were esteemed by God.
1. Noah’s solitude (Genesis 6:5–8)
Noah found favour in God’s eyes. He was esteemed and God tasked him to build the ark. How lonely Noah must have felt, it was him against the whole world.
2. Abraham’s solitude (Hebrews 11:8–10)
Same for Abraham, he had to bring Isaac to be sacrificed, but can’t tell anyone. And Isaac experienced such loneliness on the altar.
3. Jacob’s solitude (Genesis 28:11–12, 32:24)
Jacob experienced so much loneliness. He had to run away to
Laban’s house to escape Esau. When he was coming back to his homeland, he had to wrestle with God.
Only when we wrestle with God, do we come to understand it is God Himself.
4. Joseph’s solitude (Genesis 37:3-40)
Joseph was Jacob’s favourite son, but one day he was betrayed by his own brothers, sold into slavery and he became so lonely. He was also accused and thrown into jail.
5. Moses’ solitude (Exodus 3:1-2, 19:24, 34, Hebrews 11:25-26)
Moses led the Israelites but he also felt so lonely since the Israelites were not in the same frequency as him.
6. Elijah’s solitude (1 Kings 17, 18, 19:8-10)
Elijah was so lonely when he did God’s work, that he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
But God appeared to reassure him that He has reserved 7,000 whose knees had not bowed to Baal.
7. Jesus’ solitude
Matthew 8:20 (NASB95) — 20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
8. Apostle John’s solitude
Revelation 5:2–4 (NASB95) — 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. 4 Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;
Why the solitude? And what did they do?
The sorrow and the solitude that those who are esteemed by God experience are different from the solitude and loneliness of the world.
These are the sorrow and solitude that comes from the dire and desperate desire for God’s will to be fulfilled. These are griefs that come from the realisation of how wicked we are before God. They are from seeing how overwhelmingly hard it is for the heavenly will to be fulfilled in this physical world!
Such sorrow and solitude came because they met God. If it weren’t for God’s appearance and instructions, they would not have had such sorrow.
The sorrow and mourning come when we try to obey God’s Word. It’s not because we don’t want to do it, but because the world (sometimes including ourselves) disagrees with God’s work.
The people that we have considered above all experienced such hardship because they loved and sought to live with God’s Word. It’s because they embraced the heavenly treasure in them. That’s why it is overwhelming.
Such sorrow, mourning, and solitude will be solved only when God finally comes and fulfils His promise.
We rejoice and pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We want blessings. But it’s not that easy to receive it. It can be frustrating and challenging.
1. Noah continued on to finish building the ark.
2. Abraham did not give up his faith but continued on to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice Isaac.
3. Jacob held on all the way in the wrestle until God blessed him.
4. Joseph overcame the temptations and hopelessness, believing in God without faltering.
5. Moses followed God all the way.
6. Elijah ran the race even though he wanted to give up and die.
7. Jesus took the cross and forgave until He could say, “It is finished.”
8. Apostle John also did not give up, but ate the Little Book and prophesied again.
Result of obedience in their sorrow and solitude
1. Noah, who was lonely because the of ark, was saved through the ark.
2. Abraham received the blessing of Jehovah Jireh and became the father of faith.
3. Jacob received the blessing of Israel.
4. Joseph became the second in command in Egypt and became the type of Jesus Christ who saves his brothers, sharing the grace of forgiveness.
5. Moses led the people of God in the wilderness and became the representative of resurrection.
6. Elijah did not see death and became the representative of transfiguration.
7. Jesus fulfilled the work of redemption and salvation.
8. Apostle John ate the little book and understood the mysteries of the end time.
There are many others like Prophet Samuel, Daniel, David, and Apostle Paul who went through much suffering, solitude, sorrow, mourning, etc. for the will of God’s Word, but in the end, the will of God was fulfilled through them.
Daniel 10:13, 12:1
Psalm 34:7, 33:18–19
Our Father has waited 6,000 years with such solitude and grief, looking at us fallen mankind. Yet, He continues to fulfil His promises and makes sure His redemption work continues. May we be mature people of God who can think about what we can do. And let us believe that no matter how lonely and desperate we may be, God has sent the archangel Michael to keep and watch over us, so we can finally gain victory! Let us look forward to that day!
(Daniel 10:13, 12:1, Psalm 34:7, 33:18–19)
Our Father has waited 6,000 years with such solitude and grief, looking at us fallen mankind. Yet, He continues to fulfil His promises and makes sure His redemption work continues. May we be mature people of God who can think about what we can do. And let us believe that no matter how lonely and desperate we may be, God has sent the archangel Michael to keep and watch over us, so we can finally gain victory! Let us look forward to that day!
AMEN!
