Only the lonely

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. (Psalm 25:16-17 NIV)

I really can't say I have ever been lonely. It is amazing to me that in our society with all the people, activity, and busyness anyone could be lonely. But, loneliness is prevalent. Young people are lonely, senior citizens are lonely, widows, orphans, homeless, and many more people across this country are lonely. I also think the lost are lonely. Sure they have people in their lives, but do they really have friends that will stand by them through affliction, troubles, and aguish.

My heart is never alone. Jesus is with me, even in the most isolated situation, I don't feel alone. I'm not on my own. I have the greatest strength because the spirit of God is with me. All we need to do is turn to him. He will not leave us and he will heal us from the greatest pains in our life.  God is with us, but is that always enough? We love to have human interaction. We don't want to be alone here on earth even with the greatest friend in the universe. God can handle that as well. When we take our requests to him, he will answer them. He will provide.

Praise God for friendships. Praise God he can heal all things including loneliness, troubles of the heart, and anguish from life. Lord I pray you will take care of the lonely. Provide them with knowledge that you are always there for them. Provide them with a loving community of friends and family that will care for them and make the loneliness vanish. Thank you Lord for your great Love. Amen'

Only the lonely!

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:15, 16 NIV)

Tonight in my Billy Graham devotional I read this story:

"Some time ago a lady wrote and said, “I am 65 years old. My children are all married, my husband is dead, and I am one of the loneliest people in all the world.” It was suggested to her that she find a way of sharing her religious faith and her material goods with those around her. She wrote a few weeks later and said, “I am the happiest woman in town. I have found a new joy and happiness in sharing with others.” That’s exactly what Jesus promised!"

Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season. The joy of Christmas is missed by so many people because they are lonely. Do you know someone who is lonely? I know quite a few elderly men and women who have lost their spouse? Many of these people spent a lifetime with their wives/husbands. They had grown together to be one. They had known trial and triumph. They promised to live together until the separation of death, then it happened. With that loss of a loved one, they lost a part of themselves. Now, they need the friendship of God more than ever. They lean on the strength of the almighty. In order for joy to re-enter their lives, God must fill the void. The loneliness can not be filled by people, it needs to be filled with love. Sure, lonely people can find love from other people, but they need the perfect love of Jesus. Nothing can replace it. The lonely need to find or maybe RE-find Jesus. Yes, even those who have known Jesus for years will need to rediscover his love through the Bible, Prayer, worship, and meditation. It is through that reconnecting, they will find new joy and purpose.

Loneliness doesn't just come from the loss of a spouse. Many people have never experienced the love of companionship. For them, this season is also quite difficult. They too need the love of Christ FIRST! It is not from experience that I share, it is from my heart. God does not mean us to mourn forever. He does not mean for us to be lonely. He does not intend for us to focus on what no longer is or what never has been. He wants us to center our lives on him. We are comforted by openly professing his name, doing good, serving others, and sharing our faith. Their is no time to waste, Praise God for the life he has planned for us.

Terror on Every side!

Psalm 31 (New International Version, ©2010)

¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
   I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
   those who see me on the street flee from me. ¹² I am forgotten as though I were dead;
   I have become like broken pottery. ¹³ For I hear many whispering,
   “Terror on every side!”
They conspire against me
   and plot to take my life.


I have great neighbors. We always seem to watch out for each other. If someone is gone, the other will make sure they keep an eye on things. They are people I can count on. That's why these verses are kind of strange. I can't think of hating my neighbors so much that I had to avoid them or that I dreaded being around my closest friends. I have never felt that when people see me, they flee! (Maybe they do and I just don't recognize it!)

But you can surely get the feeling from these verses of a person who is an island. They are a person who is isolated from the rest of the world and have nowhere to turn. There are times in our lives that we feel utterly alone and that we have no friends. Even our best friends avoid us. Our enemies surround us and we feel like we are invisible to the people we live with. So many people feel like broken pottery, useless and completely unrepairable.

For those who feel like that, or who have lived that way. There is hope. Hope comes from none other than the creator of the universe. God Loves you and wants you to know you are never isolated, you are never alone with him. He is there for you and will always be that way regardless how the people around you act. Thank you Lord, I Love you!