Dear Sister,
Adam and Eve felt it. Noah felt it. Job definitely felt it. Poor Jeremiah felt it too. Loneliness. Adam and Eve felt it after that first bite of forbidden fruit, the close fellowship they had with the Lord was gone. Noah built the first boat for the first rain to the decades of jeers from family, friends, and strangers. Job lost every creature comfort in a matter of days (except for his complaining wife) oblivious to the heavenly battle brewing above. Jeremiah was put in a cistern, cooked over feces, and was even put in an oxen yoke as he followed the Lord.
Me? I felt it as a scrawny, curly redheaded, braces clad, and bifocaled girl who never quite fit in with any crowd. I felt it when tumultuous times came and I had no safe person to confide in or run to for help. Loneliness birds hover when my husband deploys…again. How about you? What makes you feel loneliness…that tight ache in your belly and heart that twists and pounds for comfort and understanding from a friend? Do you ever feel alone in a crowded room? Stay there for a second…what are we really longing?
The Lord, Creator of us and the entire Universe, made us to long for fellowship. We were created to long for Him and for other humans. Just look at Adam! He had a perfect world and relationship with God yet God said that it was not good for him to be alone…and He created Eve. A helper. A friend. A fellow sojourner. When we don’t have either of these relationships, loneliness birds begin to hover. We long for sweet fellowship to shush them away. We are lonely.
Loneliness in itself is not a sin. It is a feeling and emotion that Adam, Eve, Noah, Job, Jeremiah, and many fellow believers have felt (and feel)…in fact, Jesus felt it in the garden when His closest friends fell asleep on Him in is most desperate hour. He felt it on the cross when the Father poured His wrath on Him. Yet there is a difference in how we as believers respond to loneliness and how the world responds.
The world often tells us to turn inward. Get a cup of coffee, take these pills, go shopping, be independent and do life for yourself. Oh the lie!! Scripture tells us to turn outward! Look to the Lord! Cry out to Him! Serve others! Grab a Starbucks…but take a friend with you, or pay for the person behind you. Jesus died on the cross to restore the relationship with God that was lost in the garden. Our sin was paid for there! Completely! Now we have access to the Father through Him! We have fellowship with the same God that walked with Adam, Noah, Job, and Jeremiah! Wow!! We are never separated from God again after we trust in Christ! No more loneliness birds! Ever! Yet we forget. That’s when our fellowship with believers is so crucial! Embed yourself sweet sister into your local church. Lean into your brothers and sisters in Christ when you feel alone. They are there to remind you of what you have in Christ. They are there to hold up your arms to fight loneliness when your strength is gone. Don’t turn inward, turn outward!
One last thing…if your own loneliness birds have flown the coop…look around, who needs your fellowship and help to make their birds fly?
Your Sister in Christ,
Colleen