Few pains cut deeper than rejection—especially from someone you trusted. Dr. Michael Youssef looks at Paul’s heartbreak over Demas and reminds you that even when people walk away, God will strengthen you to keep going.
George Bernard Shaw captured the ache of abandonment through Joan of Arc’s cry: “It is better to be alone with God!” In today’s episode of the MY Devotional Podcast, Dr. Michael Youssef turns to a more personal kind of loneliness—the sorrow that comes when people you love or labor with lose courage, drift away, or choose another road.
The apostle Paul knew this pain. Near the end of his life, he wrote with grief about a former ministry companion: “Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me” (2 Timothy 4:10). That single sentence carries the weight of countless modern situations: a child walking away from the Lord, a spouse resisting God, a friend turning cold, a trusted partner stepping back when you needed them most.
Dr. Youssef reminds you that ministry and faithful living often bring “deeper depths of sorrow and higher heights of joy”—sometimes at the same time. The question is: what will you do with the rejection? Paul did not quit. He did not lose faith. He trusted God, leaned on His strength, and continued the work the Lord had given him.
If you’re carrying the heartbreak of a “Demas” in your life, this devotional will help you persevere—remaining faithful regardless of personal disappointment, and discovering that God’s presence is steady even when people are not.
Prayer: Lord, thank You that You will never leave me nor forsake me. May I draw near to You in sorrow and find new heights of joy. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon Never Give Up, Don’t Ever Give Up on the Truth: WATCH NOW | LISTEN NOW