우리는 혼자가 아니다 We Are Not Alone

우리는 혼자가 아니다 We Are Not Alone 내가 처음 예일대학교에 유학하러 올 때 미국 국내비행기 요금을 절약하고자 로스앤젤레스에서 버스로 대륙횡단을 하기로 하였다. LA에서 김원경 사형을 만나 하루를 지나 버스로 시카고를 향하다.시카고에서 신학교 동기 강형길을 만나 하루를 지나고 뉴욕으로 가서 신학교 선배 박희소를 만나 간호사 사모가 일을 하여 안정된 집에서 하루를 지나고 목적지 뉴헤이븐에 안내를 받았다. 내가 한국을 출발할 때 계획한 것은 아니기에 기도하며 하나님의 도우심을 구하였는데 하나님은 나를 혼자 버려두지 않고 가는 곳마다 나를 도울 사람을 준비해 두신 것을 알았다. 요셉이 형들의 질투로 애굽에 종으로 팔려갔으나 하나님이 그와 함께 하시어 애굽을 기근에서 구하고 총리로 지명 받아 정말 뛰어난 정책으로 인정 받으며 그의 형제 가족 초청한 70명이 세[월이 지나며 번창하게 되고 왕은 모세를 기억하지 못하고 오히려 큰 민족이 된 이스라엘을 두려워하여 그들을 종으로 삼아 고된 일을 하게 하였다. 고된 노역으로 괴로워 신음하고 부르짖자 그 소리가 하늘의 하나님께 들리었다. 하나님이 그 소리를 듣고 감독자가 그들을 학대하는 것을 보고 그들의 형편을 알고 그들의 조상 아브라함 이삭 야곱과 세운 언약을 기억하고 내려와 그들을 학대 받는 자의 손과 나라에서 구출하여 내고 조상과 약속한 땅으로 인도하여 들이기로 작정하신다. 그 일을 위하여 하나님은 강에 버려진 데서 구언 받은 모세를 통하여 이 일을 하도록 하고 시행하셨다. 아브라함의 후손 이스라엘은 많은 고난과 어려움을 겪었지만 그들은 혼자가 아니고 항상 하나님이 그들을 살피고 소리를 듣고 그들을 가까이 오시어 그들을 구하고 인도하여 젖과 꿀이 흐르는 땅으로 인도하였다. 이것이 주께서 하시는 일이라 이스라엘은 많은 고난 속에서도 견디고 이기고 뻗어갔다. 나의 삶도 나 혼자가 아니었다. 12살에 산골 집을 떠나 도시로 공부하러 갈 때에 네가 어디로 가든지 내가 너와 함께 있어 지키고 인도하신다 하셨고 그 약속은 지금도 변하지 않으신다. 내가 약하고 병들고 삶의 의욕이나 소망이 없을 때에도 나를 격려하며 새 힘을 주시고 앞서 가며 나를 인도하시는 것을 경험으로 알고 있다. 내가 할 일은 나를 인도하시는 하나님을 알고 인정하며 감사하고 순종하며 그의 뒤를 따라가는 것이다. 지금 나의 소원은 내가 사는 이 집을 주의 성소로 삼고 주와 함께 살며 동행하다가 주께서 부르시는 그 날 에녹처럼 들림 받아 가는 것이다. 병원이나 양로원에 가지 않고 주의 나라에 간 나의 친구 장세윤 정장복 김인식처럼 주께로 직행하는 길이 있음을 본다. 나의 도움이 필요한 선을 돕는 것이 현재의 일이지만 그 일이 끝나면 주께서 곧 부르실 것이라 믿으며 그날을 바라보고 감사하고 찬양하며 살 것이다. We Are Not Alone When I first came to Yale University to study, I decided to travel across the continent by bus from Los Angeles rather than take a domestic flight, in order to save money. In Los Angeles, I met my senior in the faith, Won Kyung Kim, and stayed with him for a day. Then I took a bus toward Chicago. In Chicago, I met my seminary classmate, Hyung Gil Kang, and stayed with him for another day. From there, I traveled to New York, where I met Hee So Park, a senior from my seminary. His wife worked as a nurse, and they had a comfortable and stable home. I stayed with them for a day, and they helped me find my way to my final destination, New Haven. None of this had been part of the plan I had made when I left Korea. I simply prayed and asked God for His help. Along the way, I came to realize that God had not left me alone. Wherever I went, He had already prepared someone who would help me. Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt because of the jealousy of his brothers. Yet God was with him. Through Joseph, God preserved Egypt during a severe famine, and Joseph was appointed governor because of his remarkable wisdom and policies. He eventually invited his family to Egypt, and the seventy members of Jacob's family who came there began to prosper and multiply over the years. But a new king arose who did not remember Joseph. Instead, he became afraid of the Israelites because they had grown into a great nation. He made them slaves and forced them to perform hard labor. They suffered under their harsh oppression, groaning and crying out for help. Their cries reached the God of heaven. God heard their cries. He saw how their taskmasters were oppressing them, and He knew their suffering. He remembered the covenant He had made with their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then God came down to deliver them from their oppression and from the power of the Egyptians, and He determined to lead them into the land He had promised to their ancestors. For this purpose, God called Moses, who had been rescued from the river as a child, and through him He carried out His plan. The descendants of Abraham, the people of Israel, experienced many trials and hardships. Yet they were never alone. God was always watching over them. He heard their cries, drew near to them, delivered them, and guided them toward the land flowing with milk and honey. This is the way the Lord works. Because God was with them, Israel endured, overcame many hardships, and continued to grow even in the midst of suffering. My life, too, has never been a life lived alone. When I left my mountain village at the age of twelve to go to the city for my education, God gave me this promise: “Wherever you go, I will be with you, and I will watch over you and guide you.” That promise has never changed. Even when I have been weak or sick, or when I have lost the desire to live and felt that I had no hope, I have experienced God encouraging me, giving me new strength, going before me, and leading me forward. My responsibility is simply to know and acknowledge the God who leads me, to give Him thanks, to obey Him, and to follow where He leads. My desire now is to make the home where I live a sanctuary of the Lord—to live with Him and walk with Him day by day. And when the day comes for Him to call me, I hope to be taken up like Enoch and go to be with Him. I have seen that there is a way to go directly to the Lord, without passing through a hospital or a nursing home, as my friends Se Yoon Jang, Jung Jang Bok, and In Sik Kim did when they went home to be with the Lord. For now, my task is to help those who need my help and to do whatever good I can. But when that work is finished, I believe the Lord will soon call me home. Therefore, I will look forward to that day and continue to live with thanksgiving and praise, knowing that I am never alone. The God who was with Joseph, the God who heard Israel's cries, and the God who has led me all my life is still with me today. We are not alone. The Lord is with us.