The Holiday season , for many of us, is the most happy, exciting and joyful time of the year. Then again, for others, it can be a time of loneliness. Some of us look around the malls and see others shopping for gifts, laughing, hugging and humming a Christmas tune; for those feeling lonely, seeing this reinforces their emptiness and loneliness.
Loneliness, what is it? Adrian Rogers said:
“Loneliness is a painful sense of being unwanted, unneeded, uncared for, maybe even unnecessary. Every person has three basic emotional needs. Every one of us has a need for someone to love and someone to love us. We also all need somebody who understands us, who knows how we feel. And then we desire somebody who wants us and needs us. We need to be needed!”
There is in every human heart a place that God alone can fill. There is also in God’s heart a place that you alone can fill. No one and nothing else can fill your place in the heart of God. Whoa. He longs for you. When we really know that love, it heals our wounded hearts and restores damaged relationships. Recently I had a night where I cried myself to sleep, the pain of loneliness cut deep and all hope seemed lost. While weeping, I heard God’s gentle words of comfort, “you are not alone. For I am here, I have never left your side. I have seen you through your darkest night and I will wipe away your every tear.” This woke me up to how God’s love brings refreshment and stillness. He wants to spend time with me! Encountering God’s love combats loneliness! As F.B. Meyer said: Loneliness is an opportunity for Jesus to make Himself known.
Surrendering to God was the key to unlock the door to the life I wanted. When I gave authority in my life back to God, He changed me. I could not change myself no matter how hard I tried. When the walls around our heart come down, God has access to the deepest parts of who we are. A relationship with the Lord will begin to transform our capacity to relate to others. His love can then flow through us in a cleansing sort of way and we are different because of it. Jesus alone is the answer to loneliness.
It’s sad that people remain isolated in their loneliness during the Holidays. Christmas is about undoing loneliness. Isaiah shared with us before the birth of Jesus Christ, "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel means "God with us." And if God is with us, how can we ever be lonely again? But, far more people are lonely than we may dream.
Loneliness, what is it? Adrian Rogers said:
“Loneliness is a painful sense of being unwanted, unneeded, uncared for, maybe even unnecessary. Every person has three basic emotional needs. Every one of us has a need for someone to love and someone to love us. We also all need somebody who understands us, who knows how we feel. And then we desire somebody who wants us and needs us. We need to be needed!”
There is in every human heart a place that God alone can fill. There is also in God’s heart a place that you alone can fill. No one and nothing else can fill your place in the heart of God. Whoa. He longs for you. When we really know that love, it heals our wounded hearts and restores damaged relationships. Recently I had a night where I cried myself to sleep, the pain of loneliness cut deep and all hope seemed lost. While weeping, I heard God’s gentle words of comfort, “you are not alone. For I am here, I have never left your side. I have seen you through your darkest night and I will wipe away your every tear.” This woke me up to how God’s love brings refreshment and stillness. He wants to spend time with me! Encountering God’s love combats loneliness! As F.B. Meyer said: Loneliness is an opportunity for Jesus to make Himself known.
Surrendering to God was the key to unlock the door to the life I wanted. When I gave authority in my life back to God, He changed me. I could not change myself no matter how hard I tried. When the walls around our heart come down, God has access to the deepest parts of who we are. A relationship with the Lord will begin to transform our capacity to relate to others. His love can then flow through us in a cleansing sort of way and we are different because of it. Jesus alone is the answer to loneliness.
It’s sad that people remain isolated in their loneliness during the Holidays. Christmas is about undoing loneliness. Isaiah shared with us before the birth of Jesus Christ, "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel means "God with us." And if God is with us, how can we ever be lonely again? But, far more people are lonely than we may dream.
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