By Shirley Mitchell
“The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’ ”
Genesis 2:18
Do you know that most people struggle with loneliness? I was quite shocked one time during Bible study when I asked the ladies about loneliness. No matter how close they were to God every one of them experienced loneliness from time to time. Deep inside, they all felt lonely in some way. This time of year between Christmas and Valentine’s Day breeds it the most. The holidays accentuate feelings whether they are joy or sadness. The cold, dark winter months affect the human psyche. Scientific evidence shows that depression increases when there is less sunlight. Sunlight causes the production of Vitamin D in your body and this is a natural antidepressant. If you don’t get a good amount of sunlight it is likely that you will start to feel depressed.
First we must understand that there is a difference between solitude and loneliness. Solitude is to be alone physically while loneliness is feel alone spiritually psychologically. We can feel lonely in a crowd. We can be quite content when we are all alone. Solitude is inner fulfillment while loneliness is inner emptiness.
I’ve seen people be pulled from their pit of depression and released from the snares of darkness through just being able to leave their home for the night, go to a social function, and be around people. Sometimes just some human interaction with some of our friends is the medicine. Sometimes, we need something more.
We can feel lonely because we think we don’t have close friends. Maybe we don’t know how to get close to others. Maybe we don’t feel accepted by our friends or the ones that we are trying to befriend. As humans, we want to feel accepted like we belong and that we are loved. God created us for interaction with Him, and thus with each other. We need companionship because we were created for it!
When God created the world, He knew that He could not just create Adam alone to take care of it. He knew that it was not good for Adam to be alone. So He made Adam a suitable helper. He gave him a companion, Eve. She would share his experiences, his work, and his entire life. Isn’t it great to know that we feel lonely, because we were designed for interaction? God made us this way!
We were created for love - both friendship and romantic love. Love would not exist without loneliness to inspire it. We have to risk revealing ourselves. We can’t sulk and wallow in our loneliness. We have to get the courage to open up and to reach out to others. We have to let people know us. If they reject us, then we continue to trust God. He will bring us to the right relationship at the right time.
The next time you feel lonely, ask God to identify why you are lonely. Is it because you need more of a relationship with Him? Are you not letting God meet your needs? Are you looking for love and acceptance in all the wrong places instead of letting God fill those empty places? Also, ask yourself if have contributed to this empty feeling because you have neglected your physical needs. Are not eating right, getting enough exercise, or getting enough sunlight? Or is it because you have not risked yourself by trying to build relationships with other people? Have you built up walls? Have you isolated yourself? Whenever loneliness overcomes you, don’t let it envelope you and smother you. See it as a call to seek God and let Him search your heart and reveal to you His plan for you.
Pray with me: Almighty God, Maker of heaven and earth, we praise You! Thank You for how You designed us for interaction with You. We were made for companionship. When we feel lonely, help us to identify the source. Don’t let us remain in a pit of depression. Pull us out of the loneliness pit. Set us free to praise You! It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray. Amen.
Copyright ©2011 Christ Compels Ministry
“The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’ ”
Genesis 2:18
Do you know that most people struggle with loneliness? I was quite shocked one time during Bible study when I asked the ladies about loneliness. No matter how close they were to God every one of them experienced loneliness from time to time. Deep inside, they all felt lonely in some way. This time of year between Christmas and Valentine’s Day breeds it the most. The holidays accentuate feelings whether they are joy or sadness. The cold, dark winter months affect the human psyche. Scientific evidence shows that depression increases when there is less sunlight. Sunlight causes the production of Vitamin D in your body and this is a natural antidepressant. If you don’t get a good amount of sunlight it is likely that you will start to feel depressed.
First we must understand that there is a difference between solitude and loneliness. Solitude is to be alone physically while loneliness is feel alone spiritually psychologically. We can feel lonely in a crowd. We can be quite content when we are all alone. Solitude is inner fulfillment while loneliness is inner emptiness.
I’ve seen people be pulled from their pit of depression and released from the snares of darkness through just being able to leave their home for the night, go to a social function, and be around people. Sometimes just some human interaction with some of our friends is the medicine. Sometimes, we need something more.
We can feel lonely because we think we don’t have close friends. Maybe we don’t know how to get close to others. Maybe we don’t feel accepted by our friends or the ones that we are trying to befriend. As humans, we want to feel accepted like we belong and that we are loved. God created us for interaction with Him, and thus with each other. We need companionship because we were created for it!
When God created the world, He knew that He could not just create Adam alone to take care of it. He knew that it was not good for Adam to be alone. So He made Adam a suitable helper. He gave him a companion, Eve. She would share his experiences, his work, and his entire life. Isn’t it great to know that we feel lonely, because we were designed for interaction? God made us this way!
We were created for love - both friendship and romantic love. Love would not exist without loneliness to inspire it. We have to risk revealing ourselves. We can’t sulk and wallow in our loneliness. We have to get the courage to open up and to reach out to others. We have to let people know us. If they reject us, then we continue to trust God. He will bring us to the right relationship at the right time.
The next time you feel lonely, ask God to identify why you are lonely. Is it because you need more of a relationship with Him? Are you not letting God meet your needs? Are you looking for love and acceptance in all the wrong places instead of letting God fill those empty places? Also, ask yourself if have contributed to this empty feeling because you have neglected your physical needs. Are not eating right, getting enough exercise, or getting enough sunlight? Or is it because you have not risked yourself by trying to build relationships with other people? Have you built up walls? Have you isolated yourself? Whenever loneliness overcomes you, don’t let it envelope you and smother you. See it as a call to seek God and let Him search your heart and reveal to you His plan for you.
Pray with me: Almighty God, Maker of heaven and earth, we praise You! Thank You for how You designed us for interaction with You. We were made for companionship. When we feel lonely, help us to identify the source. Don’t let us remain in a pit of depression. Pull us out of the loneliness pit. Set us free to praise You! It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray. Amen.
Copyright ©2011 Christ Compels Ministry
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