I came home one night after hanging out with one of my friends and felt so alone. I was surrounded by great friends that I could call in a moment and talk to, but I was almost paralyzed by this loneliness that I could not even put it to words. I did not know what to do. On my bedroom floor crying, I heard the Lord in a small still voice saying, “Rayven, I want to be your friend, come to Me”. In that moment, I realized that Jesus wanted to be my closest friend and that He wanted to swallow up my loneliness and turn it into aloneness with Him. Only Jesus can take the pain of loneliness. Are you feeling lonely or isolated right now? Maybe, you just got home or have been home from the semester for weeks and away from friends, maybe even away from family. The truth is, Jesus wants to be your friend. He is near and wants to swallow up your loneliness and turn it into aloneness with Him. No person or thing can ever replace the joy that overflows from the intimacy with Him. How do we get to this place of intimacy with Jesus? This article has helped me fight against the sense of loneliness and turn it into seeking aloneness with God. Let me briefly explain below. First, we must recognize loneliness as God’s cry for friendship with us.
Our Father experiences loneliness, too. Often, we use Him instead of seeing Him as a Father. We have come to recognize the feelings of loneliness as a reminder that God has also feelings and wants to be close to us. Loneliness becomes our friend when it forces us to draw companionship from the living God that we would otherwise draw from another human being. When we recognize this happening, we can respond to it by drawing closer to Jesus instead reacting to it. Secondly, we must take our thoughts captive as it says in 2 Cor 10:5.
Speak truth to our emotions. Emotions are not bad and are real, but they do not have to control us. Take these thoughts and emotions to our loving Father. Be honest with Him and allow Him to speak truth to us. Thirdly, we must intentionally choose to spend alone time with the Lord.
Community is important, but if we are neglecting communion with the Heavenly Father, it cannot be experienced at its fullness. In the same way, we are dissatisfied with shallow friendships because it is most likely that we are not developing intimate relationship with God. We need alone time with God to experience the fullness of community. Also, we need community to see the fullness of God. Each person is a finite expression of an infinite God. Our God never intended for us to walk through life alone. We need to press into Jesus as well as into those He has placed in our lives.