In the lonely hours of the night, do you sometimes wrestle with God and your emotions, feeling desperately alone, rejected? Perhaps a best friend deserted you. Or the one you hoped to marry wants someone else. Or the one you did marry wants out. Maybe your child has turned against you, or your parents don’t seem to care. Ironically, you can feel equally lonely on a crowded city street, in a busy airport, or in a stadium filled with people. Have you ever sensed the loneliness of being in a crowd? There are so many people, but no one you know or truly care about is there. Everybody is there but no one is with you—truly with you—except for God, who is always with you. If you develop a relationship with him, you can disperse your loneliness. He is always there for you. You never need to feel lonely when the creator of the universe is by your side.
I’m lonely. What can I do?
• PSALM 23:4 | Even when I walk through the darkest valley . . . you are close beside me.
• PSALM 139:17 | How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
• ISAIAH 54:10 | “For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain.”
Recognize that you are not unlovable or deficient just because you are lonely. You have value because God made you, loves you, and promises never to leave you.
• EXODUS 5:21-22 | The foremen said to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh. . . .” Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “. . . Why did you send me?”
• 1 KINGS 19:4 | He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die.
Don’t give up on God when you are lonely. It will cause you to feel sorry for yourself, become discouraged, and fall prey to temptation.
• 1 KINGS 19:10 | “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
• MATTHEW 11:2-3 | John the Baptist, who was in prison . . . sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
• 1 PETER 4:19 | So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
Sometimes we feel alone in our stand for Christ. We can take comfort in knowing that there are others who are equally committed and that God rewards our bold commitment.
• ROMANS 12:4-5 | Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
Be around other people. Get involved in a local church. Volunteer in local community events.
• ISAIAH 41:10 | “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
• JOHN 14:1 | “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.”
Loneliness can cause us to be afraid. But God calms our fears.