Have you ever experienced a lack of support from your family or friends for something what was really important to you?  It may be a promotional that you received and no one came to support you.  It may have been a graduation that you invested large amounts of time and energy and no one from your family came.  It could have been a glorious celebration of your marriage, or the birth of a new baby and no one in your family was there to support you or believed in you.

We all need to be supported through life and have those whom we love be there by our side when something significant happens to us, whether good or bad.  But the reality of life is that some of us have experienced just the opposite when it comes to family support and the need to be trusted and believed.  When we are getting married, they are not there.  When we have birthed a baby, they are absent.  When we graduate from high school, or college, or graduate school, they are nowhere to be found.

There may be many reasons for this absence, but very few reasons are good ones.  God said of Adam in the beginning of the bible that it was not good for Adam to be alone and made a helpmate for him so that he would have support throughout his life.  The unhealthy reasons for absence of family members and friends could involve being jealous of your accomplishments or additions.  It may involve that family member putting his or her needs above yours and choosing to be selfish and self-centered in their decision-making processes.

There is a passage in the bible that spotlights this issue of not being supported or believed.  Jesus found himself in the beginning of his ministry with family members on the side of jealousy and unbelief.  “Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do.  No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.  Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”  For even his own brothers did not believe in Him.” (John 7:3-5)  It looks as if his real brothers saw him as wanting to be in the spotlight of public life.  It seemed from this passage that they were sarcastically telling Him to become more present in the society.  But they didn’t believe in Him or who He was.  Jesus felt the rejection of His own family members for who He was or what He came to do.

As you continue to read this passage, His families disbelief or lack of support didn’t deter Him from His purpose on this earth.  There may be people that are very close to you who don’t believe in you and have little or no support to offer you.  The challenge when in this situation is to clarify and solidify our purpose in life and continue to take one step and then the next step and the next.  Be encouraged that as Jesus experience this lack of support from His family, there were people around him that did believe in Him and especially Our Heavenly Father.

As you walk on this journey, remember that Jesus Himself said, “And be aware that I am with you always, even to the end of this age.” (Matthew 28:20)