Psalm 27:7-10 The Message
7-9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!
9-10 You’ve always been right there for me;
don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but God took me in.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
What Is Loneliness?
Patterns look good when quilted into a blanket or when decorating a plaid shirt.
We even enjoy the patterns of routine, bumping into the same faces on our way to work or sitting down yet again to enjoy our favorite meal.
However, seldom do we enjoy patterns that are undesired and challenging, those that leave us feeling crummy, discouraged or totally defeated inside.
Such is the case with loneliness, a feeling we each experience as children and one experience that inevitably, like time, follows us into adulthood forever.
Loneliness set in when our mother first dropped us off at daycare, and walked away without us then again when our spouse headed far out of town for work.
Our reasons for being lonely vary, but we all know very well, the feeling of it.
And we should all know that loneliness is a pattern, one we will experience time and time again – maybe not in the next hour or in the next day, but eventually.
What is loneliness?
Loneliness describes that disconnect we all experience when the reality of our relationships does not match, does not meet our standard of our expectations.
In other words, we want something we do not have.
We experience this when sitting by ourselves at home on the couch with a box of pizza or when hanging out with a group of people at a crowded restaurant.
The situations vary, but the experience is the same.
We want something we do not have.
Loneliness carries with it a familiar anguish, a longing that goes unquenched.
Sometimes, the sensation lasts so long we doubt whether we’ll ever see change.
But loneliness is a pattern, and every pattern has to end before starting again.
Thus, no matter how much we lament loneliness, much like any other form of suffering, God can and God will surely use all our pain for good (Romans 8:28).
We just have to seek Him with the knowledge that He always wants to be found.
We just have to let God do what God always does best – Share His Compassion.
The next time you and I are at the crossroads of loneliness, consider these five things we can do to extend our hand to God, to make the most of the experience.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
Connect with God
When you’re feeling lonely, remember you always have God.
In fact, we would do well to remember God is always with us, in the presence of crowded markets, driving to work on highways and in the privacy of our homes.
Too often, when loneliness creeps in, our doubts about God build.
We wonder where He has gone, why He has left us in the first place.
But the Biblical Reality is this – He hasn’t left us, nor has He forsaken us, nor has He turned His back to us – because He has to remain true to His promises.
Instead, the lonely feeling is an indicator that there is some distance between us, distance we ourselves have created by our own pride in our own humanity.
Fill the void by seeking Him earnestly and openly – tell Him how you feel, why, and ask for a change – or even better, to use loneliness to renew, to develop you.
Connect with Others
Loneliness can also prove to be empowering, inspirational and motivational for “kicking yourself in your pants seat” and going out and connecting with people.
Whether you are looking a “change of scenery”, to date or make new friends, or just have a good conversation, sometimes you just have to go out and search for what you the company you want instead of just waiting for company to come.
There’s no doubt that God answers our prayers, but we too are instructed to add action – fellowship – to our prayers – maybe then we’ll see the results we want.
Reassess Ourselves
Loneliness may feel unfair, unjust, and cumbersome, and all of those things may be true, but sometimes we find ourselves in lonely seasons because of decisions that we ourselves have made and we cannot forgive ourselves for.
Single parents who might have taken the time and worked things out now feel emptiness after perhaps prematurely walking away and ending their marriages.
The friend feels the sting of loneliness after experiencing yet another betrayal.
Parents raising their children, working those extra hours for those few extra dollars for those much needed extra basic necessities, leaving children behind.
Caregivers who subtly or suddenly realize they have basic needs, have their own healthcare needs which need to be cared for but feel guilty taking time to do so.
The solution then is acknowledge what is going on, pick up a Bible, give thanks to God, to confess your sins, repent, and, where possible, pursue reconciliation, pursue the renewal and refreshment of your worldly vs. heavenly perspective.
Plan for the Future
One way to look at the lonely season is a time of preparation for what is to come.
You don’t have what you want right now, but one day, by God’s grace you could.
If that miracle happens, reveals itself in a God timely way, how can you better express thankfulness to God, to serve God during the time that you have today?
Does the Lord want you to grow in any particular way? If so, embracing how He wants to grow you today will only make you better for what happens tomorrow.
Change your Perspective
Loneliness does not feel great, but loneliness will only fester, will feel worse without our intentionally seeking God, His Wisdom and His right perspective.
We don’t have to enjoy what we’re going through to make the most of the experience.
Most of us don’t and wont enjoy breakups, but most will attest to growing from the experience.
Struggles have the potential to make us stronger (James 1) and even to break us.
James 1:2-18 GOD’S WORD Translation
When You Are Tested, Turn to God
2 My brothers and sisters, be very happy when you are tested in different ways. 3 You know that such testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Endure until your testing is over. Then you will be mature and complete, and you won’t need anything.
5 If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn’t find fault with them. 6 When you ask for something, don’t have any doubts. A person who has doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. 7 A person who has doubts shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 A person who has doubts is thinking about two different things at the same time and can’t make up his mind about anything.
9 Humble believers should be proud because being humble makes them important. 10 Rich believers should be proud because being rich should make them humble. Rich people will wither like flowers. 11 The sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up plants. The flowers drop off, and the beauty is gone. The same thing will happen to rich people. While they are busy, they will die.
12 Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 When someone is tempted, he shouldn’t say that God is tempting him. God can’t be tempted by evil, and God doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 Everyone is tempted by his own desires as they lure him away and trap him. 15 Then desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin. When sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
16 My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled. 17 Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. The Father doesn’t change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon.
18 God decided to give us life through the word of truth to make us his most important creatures.
The deciding factor is our faulty worldly perspective going long unchallenged.
The deciding factor is never challenging God, make His Perspective Our Own!
One way to ensure you have the right perspective is to remember you may be lonely in your mindset, but you are not alone – You can never ever be alone.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 139:1-18 Revised Standard Version
The Inescapable God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me!
2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;
thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou dost beset me behind and before,
and layest thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there thy hand shall lead me,
and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Let only darkness cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to thee,
the night is bright as the day;
for darkness is as light with thee.
13 For thou didst form my inward parts,
thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.[a]
Wonderful are thy works!
Thou knowest me right well;
15 my frame was not hidden from thee,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;
in thy book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
When I awake, I am still with thee.[b]
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 