Sometimes I feel all alone in the world. It's depressing. I have people all around me, I have family and yet sometimes I feel like it's just me against the world. Loneliness is a tough place to be. We can't let on we're feeling lonely in our work place or with our friends because they'd either think we're weird or psycho or the sharks would move in for the kill. So our loneliness only deepens.
It seems kind of strange to think that a "servant of God" could ever feel lonely. I'd be embarrassed to admit that except for the fact that a guy named Elijah experienced extreme loneliness and there was that time in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus couldn't get His closest friends to stay up and pray with Him. It was only THE most crucial night of His life on earth.
Loneliness and feeling loved seem to have something in common. When I feel least loved and appreciated, I notice my loneliness meter rises. When I'm feeling all alone in the world, my sense of being loved diminishes. Perhaps that's why God said it wasn't good for man to dwell alone. Truth is, we all need a love that values us. We all need interaction and intimacy with others to feel and express love.
Through my years of ministry I've noted that a majority of Christians and people in general struggle with life, faith, relationships, finances, careers, family, self-esteem because they've not experienced a genuine love relationship with God. Church attendance, church service, spiritual obligations, rituals, rules, Bible study have become substitutes for a growing intimacy with God. So life in Christ is nothing more than a routine. There is no joy because we're not truly filled with a love relationship with God. Read these verses again. Strength, confidence, optimism, hope, self-esteem, inner joy, power, acceptance all come from growing deeper in a love relationship with God.
God, I want to be swallowed up in your love. I want to wallow in, luxuriate in it, revel in it, soak in it. I want to truly experience you, to be filled up with you. Help me Lord, put aside the distractions of life and simply grow in truly knowing you. It's exhilarating to sense your presence, power and love. I want to experience that daily, not just in a corporate worship environment. God, I'm opening my life, my heart, my mind, my soul to you.
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