Loneliness is becoming rampant in our society today since the invention of the movies and the television, and now of course, more than ever before, the Internet and social media. And now, with the pandemic we’re facing lockdown and quarantine so it’s gotten even worse. Even back in the old days when we could fellowship and see our friends and loved ones, it was lonely enough. When people get together they say a quick hello, how are you doing, and then they’re back looking at their phones – or if they’re with friends or family, they’re watching TV or a movie. Hardly anyone really takes the time to know one another anymore, or learn about each other. We don’t really get acquainted and involved with one another’s thoughts and feelings. To compound this problem, everyone’s too busy with work, raising children, and a host of other activities that we’ve created for ourselves. So the last thing we want is to talk and get personal with people. We don’t have time to care too deeply. We’ve become too exhausted and worn out with our busy lives. The distraction of phones and social media or a movie is actually a welcome retreat. In them we escape. We can participate in our world without really getting too involved, which leads to even more loneliness. You can go home from a party full of people (or in our case these days, a zoom party) and feel utterly lonely. No one is really listening or wants to listen anymore.
The quickest way to overcome loneliness is to make friends with the Lord and to talk to Him. If you’re not in the habit of talking to the Lord you can start right away, even right now. If you don’t know the Lord you can certainly introduce yourself to Him and make Him your friend. You can tell Him you want to be His friend. He will gladly take your request with open arms. He will never turn anyone away. This is why He came and died for our sins, to be our Friend and our Savior.
The Lord tells us Himself how to come to Him. He said in His word,
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. {Jeremiah 29:13}
There’s really nothing much to talking to the Lord. All you have to do is come with all of your heart and be yourself. The more you are open to Him the more you will find Him. Find a place where you can be alone with Him and talk to Him. Imagine Him there right beside you, as a Friend who knows you well and loves you already. There is nothing you need to hide from Him because He knows you through and through, and understands you for who you are. Just talk to Him with your heart. You can talk out loud or just in your thoughts to Him. Either way He can hear you. The Bible tells us that the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching the innermost part of our being. {Proverbs 20:27} Where you are, God is there also. Because He made you, He knows you. He knows when you are talking to Him. He knows when you are thinking of Him. In Psalm 139:2-3 the psalmist shows how God knows everything about us. He knows when we’re up and we’re sitting down, and He knows our thoughts completely. It tells us,
“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.”
We are human beings that consist of a soul and a spirit – a heart. We’re not just eyes, ears, hands and feet. We have a soul that requires daily nourishment. There is a human being in each and every one of us that longs for a soul to soul interaction. We desire something that goes deeper than just a five to ten minute conversation that hardly scratches the surface of our hearts, or delves in to what we really want to say. We need a connection and we need to be touched, not just physically but most importantly spiritually and emotionally. Where are you going to get that in our day and age with our phones ringing, our social media notifications, and our movie watching? We are living in a time and age where loneliness is becoming more and more prevalent, not just in the population of baby boomers getting older and ending up in nursing homes alone, but sadly and tragically with our young people too. Even as young as 8 years old, kids are committing suicide in our society today. The answer? Jesus Christ. Make friends with Him.
It’s not really hard to talk to the Lord. Since you and I are made by Him and were created by Him, He can easily connect with us and we with Him. If we just take the time to connect with Him with our heart, our soul, and our mind, we will find Him. If you want to be nourished, if you want to be filled, and if you want your loneliness to go away, connect with Him by talking to Him with your heart and soul. Remember we can find Him if we search and seek for Him with all of our hearts. It simply means we open up to Him with all of our heart and soul and talk to Him without reservations. Be yourself and have confidence in His love for you. Go to Him believing with all of your heart that He hears you and cares and loves you very much. Tell Him your desires, your thoughts, and your feelings. Tell Him everything and anything you have in your heart. This is what He wants. This is what He is looking for from each and every one of us. If you do this, you will find a Friend who loves you so much, and who will fill every longing you have in your heart and in your soul. And yes, you might have to turn off your social media and your notifications. You might have to go off the grid for a while, but it will all be worth it. I promise you, you will never regret it. I have found again and again in my years of talking to Him and connecting with Him, that He can definitely fill every longing I have in my heart and in my soul. I have experienced again and again His love for me and how real and true He is. He can be found. He can be touched. He can fill us and connect with us and meet all the longings we have for friendship and love. He will never leave us nor forsake us, or turn away from us. He will never betray us. He is true until the end. Truly, He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Every effort on my part to connect with Him always leaves me blessed and happier. It always makes me feel loved and thankful that I made the time to talk to Him and be His friend. Again and again He has taken away my loneliness. He is faithful in His friendship and in His love. Jesus tells us,
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. {John 14:18}
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. {Matthew 11:28-30}
And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. {Matthew 28:20}
Prayer
Father, I thank You with all of my heart for Your love for me that is faithful and true until the end. You will never ever leave me nor forsake me. You will never ever turn away from those who desire You in their lives. Please Father, forgive me for all of my unrighteousness. Forgive me for not always choosing to go to You for my need of comfort. I know sometimes I would rather be distracted by social media and all forms of entertainment in this world than to seek Your presence. But when the lights are out and my head is on my pillow, You alone know the cry of my heart and the longings of my soul. You alone know the emptiness I feel. I need You, Jesus. I always need You. Father, I pray that You will please help me to make the time to talk with You and to connect with You. Even right there on my pillow I can talk to You for You will be there. Help me to make You my Friend and confide in You. Help me to overcome my sadness and my loneliness and all the emptiness I feel in my heart. Fill me Father, I pray, in Your most wonderful and precious name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
Repost from September 2018: Overcoming Loneliness
