Where No One Stands Alone

I’ve always considered ‘Where No One Stands Alone’ as an Elvis Presley gospel song that others have ‘borrowed’. Here’s one of the many versions:

Once I stood in the night
With my head bowed low
In the darkness as black as could be
And my heart felt alone and I cried, “Oh Lord
Don’t hide your face from me”

Like a king, I may live in a palace so tall
With great riches to call my own
But I don’t know a thing
In this whole wide world
That’s worse than being alone

Hold my hand all the way, every hour, every day
Come here to the great unknown
Take my hand, let me stand
Where no-one stands alone.

Loneliness is real for so many… youngsters in school, struggling young mums, men who’ve lost their way. Some of the saddest conversations I’ve had are with lonely older men who are facing life alone. Aloneness is a major contributor to depression and mental ill-health…

There are times when we need to be strong and stand alone. The Bible narrative, world history is full of individuals who stood alone, relying on strength from their God; alongside that is our need for friendship and community. In the beginning God says, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone…’

Looking back, at times when I have felt alone, I’ve felt self-pity, self-doubt, blamed others, focused on perceived injustices. This song is a call for me to be proactive, to reach out to others, to my God, for help, for companionship.

In particular it’s a prayer for God’s presence for when I feel alone. As I reach out my hand I experience with the Psalmist ‘He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock…’ I rediscover that ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble’.

It’s also a call for me to seek out those who are alone, feeling alone, standing alone. I’m to deliberately, intentionally, reach out and invite others to ‘take my hand’, so that as they face ‘the great unknown’, they will not ‘stand alone’.

Take my hand, let me stand
Where no-one stands alone