We live in a world where we are rarely totally alone. We go to the grocery store when someone calls and asks, “Are you by yourself?” We may answer yes, but you are not alone. There are people all around you. When you go home, you may be the only person physically in your space, but you are still connected and interacting with others through your phone. Therefore, it is very difficult to have any time when you are completely alone. Yet, there will come a day when we are standing alone. The Bible speaks of this as the judgment in which every individual is personally accountable to God.
Romans 14:10-12 “But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
In the world we live in, it is easy to put these thoughts aside. It is filled with constant noise and public opinion, making it easy to measure our faith by the standards around us. We compare our journey to our peers, where we blend into the culture and find group identity. Yet, the gospel continually reminds us of a quiet, profound truth: our relationship with God is deeply personal. It is based on what I have done with Jesus and for Jesus. No one else comes into play when I stand before Him. There will be no opportunity to build my case or make excuses for not living in obedience to His word. I, as an individual, will stand before my Creator.
God does not design this moment before Him to simply build fear within us, but it is to give clarity as to what will happen after we die. He wants us to understand that important earthly titles, human praise, and worldly achievement all fall away on that day. He does not examine us as a group or ask how well we conformed to the crowd, even if that crowd is our church family. He looks directly at the heart.
Paul reiterates this personal accountability in II Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” While it is good and important to encourage others, to pray for them, and bear their burdens with them, they cannot believe, repent, or obey on our behalf. Since God knows us better than we know ourselves, our deepest thoughts, fears, and desires, there is no need to put on a façade.
While standing alone before God sounds vulnerable, it also means God’s full, intimate love and grace are focused entirely on you in that moment. Knowing that He sees and knows everything about us and still loves us should make us desire to please Him even more.
In I Kings 19:11-13, Elijah felt completely alone. Isolated from his people and not recognizing that God was there with Him. His life was in danger because Jezebel wanted him dead. In those moments of fear, he allows his feelings to dictate what he believes. He has a bit of a pity party and says, “I even I only, am left.” God had sent a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but He was not in them. He comes to Elijah in a still small voice, a voice of reproof because Elijah was hiding out and not placing his trust in God. He had forgotten that he was not alone. In that quiet solitude, Elijah found fresh strength and purpose.
I Kings 19:10-13 “And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?”
When you learn to stand alone before God in daily prayer and honest surrender, you gain an unwavering foundation. The opinions of others lose their grip, and the desire to please God above all else takes root. It is in these moments that we are preparing for obedience. We must prioritize our time with God. We must step away from the crowd and quiet the noise around us. For me, it is the first thing I do each day. Am I naturally a morning person? No, but I have disciplined myself to rise before all the noise of the day begins, because God is more important than my sleep. It is in these moments that I learn to stand before Him with an open and honest heart, hiding nothing, and making no excuses. He extends courage to faithfully walk with Him, even when the path requires standing alone in this world. These honest, vulnerable times are preparing me for the day I will stand alone before Him.
Are you prepared? You will either stand before Him with Jesus as your Savior, with His righteousness applied to your life, or you will stand before Him guilty, and you will pay the price for your sins eternally in Hell. For those who are saved, this judgment will not determine our eternal home, but it will determine the rewards God gives us to offer back to Him. It will be a sorrowful time if you have nothing to give back to the one who gave everything for you.
Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
