Sometimes in life, things happen. You fall into certain circumstances that you can’t control but you wish you could. You end up feeling alone. Distraught. Even abandoned. It’s something everyone has been through in life. The feeling of being alone.
There were times in my life where I felt lonely. During college, there would be plenty of fun times but also there were times of lonely nights in the dorm. Growing up in a fairly large city probably had something to do with it. I moved from a large Texas city to a VERY small Arkansas town and I’m talking NOTHING. There were a couple of gas stations, some fast food places, and a Wal-Mart. So needless to say, it could get pretty lonely around there.
I remember there would be times where all three of my roommates would leave for the weekend, off doing different things, and I would be there on campus, alone. Campus during the weekends cleared out and rightly so. Even I would go home some weekends because I didn’t want to be alone on campus. There really wasn’t much to do. Students got very creative too. So during the weekends, you could feel like you were the only one on campus. It’s an eerie feeling to say the least.
I remember nights in my dorm wishing God would lead me to the woman he had for me, thinking that could be an answer to the loneliness but that wouldn’t of fixed it completely. You’ve heard the saying, lonely in a crowded room? That is exactly the thing. As humans, God designed us to want human interaction. He gave Adam, Eve, because he was lonely. Someone to keep him company and to love. Marriage is a wonderful, God designed covenant, but getting married won’t keep you from feeling lonely.
As I write this, I’m laughing to myself because of the fact that I am a introvert. Most of the time I would rather be alone, just doing my own thing… at least, I would of told you that many years ago. I’m still a introvert but with a twist. I know in my late high school years, this seemed to change for me, especially my junior and senior years. If you had seen me from the outside you would never of known I was introverted because my best friend Matt and I were always hanging out, going places, doing fun things. Later on in college it was the same way. See, back in high school, I started longing for more human interaction. Feelings of wanting to be with people and living life along with them. I went from introvert to extrovert. Complete opposites.
See, it’s the feeling of being alone. Feeling alone is something we have all felt. It’s a feeling that makes you feel like you’re doing something wrong with your life or maybe that you’re less of a person because we feel like we shouldn’t feel lonely. Loneliness is a temptation that we should strive to keep ourselves from. We have to look at ourselves from the inside. True self value and worth comes from within and can only be affirmed through Christ.
This reminds me of Paul. This dude was shipwrecked, beaten, and imprisoned for sharing the gospel of Christ. Do you think he felt alone sometimes? You bet he did. Now look at your life… it doesn’t seem so bad now right? Paul knew what it felt like to feel deep loneliness. But he knew too that nothing could separate him from Christ’s love.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:35-39
Paul knew loneliness and he knew the love of Christ. Even Jesus felt loneliness on the cross when God turned his back on him when he was taking in every sin on in the world. It’s comforting to think about to say the least.
True self value and worth comes from within and can only be affirmed through Christ.I’ll admit, I think about being alone from time to time. It’s something that’s always there, in the back of my mind. Maybe yours too. But it’s what you do with that information that will change your outlook and perspective on things. You must accept the circumstances in your life when they happen, deal with them, and then move on. If you hold onto happenings, you can lead yourself down a road of despair. If God can take our sin, throw them to the farthest ocean, and act like it never happened, can’t we deal with things and move on from them?
I’m reminded of a song from a band called Seven Places. The song is called “Lonely for the Last Time.” It talks about feeling alone and
wanting to be with Christ. While we are still on this earth we are going to experience loneliness. It’s a inevitability caused by sin, separation from God. It will happen to you. But the choice is yours what you will do when the feelings come.Have faith and take the opportunity to look inward at yourself, and Christ. If you do, you will find that there is self-healing and strength in the power of Jesus which only he can give.
