Don't Waste Your Loneliness
April/16/2021 01:35 PM Filed in: CrossWinds | Christian Growth
She gathered up the torn ribbons and ripped Christmas wrapping. The young mother carried the trash to the back alley. Their traditional Christmas morning was cut short when her three children said, “Hurry up, Mom! We have to be at Dad’s by 10:00 this morning.” At the beep of his horn, all three raced out the door to repeat the gift-giving scene with their father, his new wife, and her children. They would be there all day then leave on a trip for the holidays. Suddenly, both her house and her heart felt alone. In the quiet house, she sat by the fireplace allowing her tears to run free. In her loneliness, she cried out to God in her pain.
When was the last time you felt the pain of loneliness take a bite out of your heart? Let’s see what the Bible says about loneliness and where to find help in those painful times.
When was the last time you felt the pain of loneliness take a bite out of your heart? Let’s see what the Bible says about loneliness and where to find help in those painful times.
In the Bible many people struggled with feeling alone. David felt lonely and rejected as he ran for his life from Saul. Job felt lonely because of his unfaithful friends. Paul felt lonely in jail. The one who experienced the greatest loneliness of all was Jesus as He died on the cross. His closest friends abandoned Him. His heavenly father was forced to turn His back on Him. Jesus faced the hardest moment of His life alone.
What should we do when we feel lonely?
Know that God allows times of loneliness into our lives for a good reason. Sometimes it is only in times of loneliness that we slow down enough to seek God and long for the comfort of His presence. Deuteronomy 4:29 promises us that when we seek God, we will find Him when we search for Him with all of our heart. Loneliness is a good thing when it brings us to the point of seeking the God who loves us and wants us to know we are loved. We are not alone.
Loneliness is also good when it brings us to the point of experiencing the supernatural comfort that only God can provide. 2 Corinthians 1:4 reminds us that when we seek God, He comforts us in our afflictions with a comfort that only He can provide. Acts 9:31 reminds us that one of the things the Holy Spirit does is comfort us in our loneliness and trials.
While loneliness can be a good thing if it draws us near to God, the pain of loneliness can be wasted. Instead of seeking God, we can let our loneliness turn us into cynical and bitter people. Instead of seeking God, we can let the pain of our loneliness turn us toward cheap substitutes for God in an attempt to deaden the pain. In the end, all of the substitutes we use to deaden our pain and drown our sorrows will only keep us from the God who loves us and wants to comfort us.
God built us for a relationship with Him and for relationships with others. For Christians, God promises that all seasons of loneliness will come to an end. Either God will use our loneliness to draw us to Himself and reenergize us to love others or God will eventually bring us home to be with Him in heaven. Psalm 16:11 describes heaven as a place full of joy and pleasure. The sweetest part of that pleasure is a much closer relationship with God and with other people. Heaven is a place where we will never feel alone.
My friends, don’t waste your loneliness. God wants to do a good thing in your life through those times. Let your loneliness draw you near to the God who loves you so much that He gave His own Son to save you and be with you. Let the comfort God gives you when you seek Him in times of loneliness re-energize you to love others and bring comfort to them. Remember that we have a God that gave His own Son to die for us so we will never be alone.
(Written for the Dickinson County News April 16, 2021)
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