Article: Do you feel alone or isolated? God has a Purpose for your Life! | Jacob Varghese

Do you feel alone or isolated? We all feel alone at times. Through this message I wish to give some insight on how to cope up with loneliness when it attacks us. Maybe you find yourself sitting alone and wishing you were somewhere else doing something or with someone. Believe it or not everyone feels this way sometimes. Maybe for you this feeling of loneliness has become a way of life. Maybe you feel alone because you just broke up in a relationship? Maybe you feel this way because everyone has labeled and rejected you. Maybe you feel this way because you think you will never be good enough for someone to love you. Social isolation is not the only cause of loneliness; there are many situations which cause us to feel alone. I would like to take your attention to Psalms 102:1-11. In this Psalm David pours his heart out concerning how he felt during a lonely period in his life. This Psalm is a prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord. In verse 5 he says “I forget to eat my food. In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones. In verse 9 he says “For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears”

Loneliness, isolation and depression are causing disorder in human life today and we need to be aware of this and help those around us who need to feel more included and loved. I can hardly think of a worse feeling than feeling like I am all alone. I also understand that it is ok to be alone at times and trust me I know that there are times when being all alone can be a real blessing and being alone is necessary for our sanity, if for nothing else, just to clear our minds. Of course, there are times when you want to be alone, or when you choose to be alone, or when you need your space, or when you are comfortable being alone. While some of us at the moment might be saying, “I feel alone” There are others who look at their situations of life and say “I wish I was alone!” I know people who are even enjoying the “alone time” or “me time” that they have. Being alone in itself is not something that is negative or damaging. Even Jesus needed to be alone. Jesus identifies with our loneliness and his sovereign grace gives us the ability to move beyond feelings of loneliness to a place of identity and purpose. When you feel alone or isolated, remember these truths.

God is always with you. Deuteronomy 31:8 says “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged”. God is reassuring the Israelites that all will be well. He was removing Moses, not only as their leader, but from their midst and He knew the turmoil they were feeling. This was a monumental change for these people who had relied on Moses for so long. His voice was God’s voice; they knew and trusted that voice. God was giving Moses much needed eternal rest and although He had appointed Joshua as Moses’ successor, God would rule and reign through this next leader as He did with Moses. Even today, when we face changes in our life, these same words that were once spoken to comfort a people struggling with the changes they were facing, are the same words God is using to calm our fears and anxieties.

He calls you by Name. Isaiah 43:1 says “But now, this is what the Lord says- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Battling Fear-you are not alone! What reassures you in times of difficulty and hardship? What gives you comfort in the midst of incredible pain? From what source of strength do you draw when suffering is a reality in your life, or when it is inevitable in the days to come? How can you control the natural feelings of fear—feelings that can so easily consume us? Christian, take heart. God is with you. He is with you in every situation, every scary moment, every tear, every pain, and every hardship. He is a God who strengthens, helps, and upholds you. He is a God who transcends time, space, and matter. He commands the waters, the rivers, and the fire. He directs them to accomplish His good purposes. He is a personal God, who is abundantly able to keep your soul. I have called thee by thy name…” We don’t have to be afraid, because He knows us by name and He knows where we are. He gives you a fresh start Romans 8:2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

There is a difference between loneliness and aloneness. I think everyone of us is called to be alone so there has to come some point where a mature spirituality allows you to arrive at as aloneness which is not necessarily lonely and I think what happens at least in our modern times the experience is that the idea of being alone it scares us and never be happy being myself but spiritual maturity is when you can actually be alone and not be lonely. If we look at from Christian perspective about loneliness is that we never are alone. There is a God who present everywhere and who knows everything about us, who knows us better than ourselves, who in a sense is closer to us than we are to ourselves. But it takes some discipline to and some process of growth to be alone with God. Sometimes we want to distract ourselves from God with this or that. Instead we need to crave for solitude that is the opportunity to be with God, you know that is one of the best things to do. As Psalm 139 say, Lord you know me, you know where I sit and where I stand, not a word is on my mouth before you, Lord know it. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. My inmost being you know. So, you need to understand between loneliness and being alone. As we read the Psalm 139, we understand God is so interwoven with us that we are really never ever going to be lonely. Yes, you might be by yourself but you never be completely alone. As Christians we are first of all made for relationship with God and then we are made for relationship with each other. The one thing about human relationships is every human relationship has to do with sharing something, the more important and more valuable we share, deeper the relationship is. When we start to share the deep things, valuable things, precious things then we have deeper relationships come from that. So, Christianity opens up for us to have relationship found it on that very deepest possibility of sharing God, the life of God, the love of God, the grace of God. So, if you are struggling with loneliness don’t be afraid of it. Trust in the Lord and know that God is with you that can bring you from loneliness to a healthy sense of aloneness in the presence of God.

If you are experiencing a season of loneliness don’t feel like there is something wrong with you. It is very, very normal. All of us deal with it in different seasons of our life. Loneliness hits all of us at different seasons of our lives. What is the purpose for or why God would leave us alone? That is a question which comes to our mind. Yes, God has a purpose for it. When you look at the scriptures, it is very clear that we see that with the life of David, at the life of Joseph, look at the life of Moses, look at the life of Jesus in the wilderness look at the life of Paul, John in the island of Patmos. All these different people went through seasons where they were alone because God wanted to speak to them. God had a message, He wanted to communicate to them and so often times God knows that whenever there is a noise around with a lot of distractions around us that we are just not listening to God, we are not interested in listening to God. So, whenever He gets us to a season of loneliness, He has got our full attention and He can speak to us and get a message to us. I can very well identify with this as I have gone through such a season in my life from 2017 August to for more than a year that He could speak to me, He could communicate with me and bring me back to the original purpose for which He has called me to. This is also a season of examination of our life. In other words, God allows people to be alone because He is testing us, which was the case with Job in the Bible. He wants to see if we are going to be able to still be faithful and be obedient to Him even when we do not have the people around us that we want to have. Even though we do not like it, God will use seasons of solitude to test and expose the level of our faith. This is also for our preparation, in other words often times in scripture when God wanted to use a man or woman greatly, He would use the season of solitude that preceded the very thing that he wanted to do in and through their life as a season of preparation. So my friends, I do not know what God may be doing in and through your life but it is very well could be that He is trying to communicate something to you, it could be trying to test your faith and then He could be preparing you for a blessing that He has in mind for you and the people around. But what do we do or how do we handle it when we are right in the midst of a season of loneliness? Listen I understand it, I have been through this in my life. So, let me tell you, spend this time to reach up to God just focusing on your relationship with God, spending time with Him in prayer, getting intimate with Him, just reestablishing that sense of relationship with God because whatever is on the other side of the season of your loneliness is more than likely going to require you to have a stronger faith and more intimate relationship with God. The second thing I would suggest is not only we reach up but reach in to our lives. In other words, use this time to really get to know yourself. Not only we reach up to God, reach in and take time to develop ourselves but most importantly reach out. You don’t have to be alone, you have people around, your family, your church, or your community and so look for and join a prayer group, meet up people or friends and spend quality time with them. It does help whenever you are in a community of people who are like minded and hold you accountable, that can really provide some sort of relief for the season of loneliness that you may be experiencing. Whatever season you are going through is just that it is a season God has something else on the other side for you. I want to encourage you to remain faithful and obedient to God and know that this season very well may be a test of your faith.

JACOB VARGHESE

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