“At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.”
2 Timothy 4:16-17
Deep in the South Pacific Ocean lies a place farther from land than any other place on Earth.
It’s called “Point Nemo.”
The nearest land is approximately 1600 miles away. This may be a little hard to believe, but if you sailed to Point Nemo, you would be closer to the astronauts on the International Space Station than any person on the planet.
Life in our digital, hyperconnected world can often feel like we’re living on a metaphorical Point Nemo.
Alone.
Isolated.
Cut-off from companionship.
Sure, we’re surrounded by people, but we’re so lonely they might as well be thousands of miles away.
Is that how you feel?
If so, I can relate to you…and so can Paul.
Paul experienced a ‘Point Nemo’ moment near the end of his life. Imprisoned for proclaiming the Gospel, he was lonely and discouraged. For various reasons, most of his closest companions had left the area and moved on to other things (2 Timothy 4:9-12). Only Luke remained.
To make matters worse, no one, not even Luke, attended Paul’s preliminary trial, much less spoke up in his defense. Paul blatantly says, “No one supported him” (2 Timothy 4:16).
Many of us know what it’s like for people to not show up when we need them the most. It’s shocking. Their absence cuts deep.
In these moments, we feel all alone, like we’re drifting in the vast, endless blue of Point Nemo.
I don’t know about you, but when people don’t come through for me, my natural reaction is to respond in anger and bitterness.
But notice how Paul responds.
First, he offers forgiveness. He tells Timothy, “May it not be held against them” (2 Timothy 4:16).
(Huh? Who says something like this, especially when they’re rotting away in a cold, dark dungeon?)
His words echo Jesus’ prayer from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:24), and the prayer of Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:60).
When others fail to come to our aid, let’s take a cue from Paul and choose to respond in love, not anger, and with grace, not cruelty.
Secondly, in one of the loneliest moments in his life, Paul experienced Jesus’ presence in a practical way. While none of his friends showed up to his hearing, Paul wasn’t really alone; “The Lord stood by his side and gave him strength” (2 Timothy 4:17).
These words might sound cliché, like something we’d casually post on Instagram. But for Paul, the presence of Jesus was more than a nice platitude or an abstract, theological concept; it was the very source of his strength.
AW Tozer once said, “Nothing in this world measures up to the simple pleasure of experiencing the presence of God.” I think Paul understood what Tozer is talking about.
If you and I are going to thrive (not just survive) in a ‘Point Nemo’ kind of world, we must learn to develop a deeper intimacy with Jesus. Remember, Jesus died, not that we would merely have a ‘belief system’ or be able to recite some facts about Him, but that we would experience genuine, personal fellowship with Him.
Not just on Sundays but every day of the week.
It’s only this kind of intimacy with Jesus…where we experience the true reality of His presence…that will help us stand strong in a sea of loneliness.
Do you have this kind of intimacy with Jesus?
You can.
I pray that we, like Paul, will experience the truthfulness of Jesus’s promise that “He will never leave or forsake us” (Hebrews 13:5).
Written by Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH
DIG DEEPER
Read “For All the Lonely People” also by Jonathan Munson
